Sweet Sisters,
When my grandsons were younger, they used to play with action figures that were called “Transformers”. The Transformers had the capability to transform into giant fighting machines. Movies were made about the battles that were fought between the good and the evil Transformers.
The word “transform” is a verb. That means it requires action. The dictionary defines it as “a radical change in appearance, form or structure. To change in condition, nature, character.” Words that mean the same thing as transformation are “renovate” and “remodel”. Transformation requires a willingness to change/ to participate.
A couple of weeks ago, Bob and Laura Winkler did a seminar in Palm Desert about transformation. I was intrigued by what they had to say about how we have to be transformed in order to become what God wants us to be. How does this transformation take place?
We often decide that we need to make changes in the houses we live in. A room is too small so we take out a wall to make it bigger. A room is too dark so we put in a window to bring in light. We fix things that are broken. We paint to add color and warmth. We call this process, “renovating” or “remodeling”. We are making old things new.
Did you know that there are scriptures in the Bible that refer to our bodies as “tents” or “houses” or “temples”? All of these terms are dwelling places. Here are two examples:
I Corinthians 6:19
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
II Corinthians 5:1
For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
When we talk about our bodies being dwelling places, what we are really talking about is our hearts. The place where we think, feel and reason.
In Matthew 12:43-45, we find a really interesting story about our minds being a dwelling place.
43 “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”
Jesus tells us in John 14:23 that when we are willing to love Him and obey Him that He and His Father will move into our hearts and live with us.
Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.
My Father will love them,
and we will come to them
and make our home with them.
What does Jesus mean by this? Does he move into our hearts in order to control us? To brainwash us? No! He moves into our hearts to help us know Him better.
In Romans 8:11, Paul tells us that God’s Spirit lives in us and gives us life.
And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead
is living in you,
he who raised Christ from the dead
will also give life to your mortal bodies
because of his Spirit who lives in you.
I love what God tells Ezekiel in Ezekiel 36:26, 27. I especially like how the Easy To Read version translates it.
26 I will also put a new spirit in you
to change your way of thinking.
I will take out the heart of stone from your body
and give you a tender, human heart.
27 I will put my Spirit inside you
and change you so that you will obey my laws.
You will carefully obey my commands.
God’s spirit moves into our hearts to change our way of thinking. He changes our heart of stone to one that is tender so that we can live the way He wants us to live.
Jesus loves us too much to move into the dwelling place of our hearts and just sit on the couch and let things remain as they are. Just like the physical house we live in cannot transform itself, we cannot transform our hearts without help. Where do we find this help? We find the ability to transform by focusing on Jesus.
II Corinthians 3:18 tells us that when we contemplate the Lord’s glory, we are transformed into His likeness.
And our faces are not covered.
We all show the Lord’s glory,
and we are being changed to be like him.
This change in us brings more and more glory,
which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
In the New Living Translation, we read in Colossians 3:10 that we put on a new nature the more we learn about our creator.
Put on your new nature,
and be renewed
as you learn to know your Creator
and become like him.
Small children seem to instinctively understand this concept. They carefully observe the ones they love so that they can do what they do.
The other day my 14-month-old granddaughter, Aurora, and her 16-year-old sister, Rana, were sharing a container of Wheat Thins. Aurora carefully watched Rana pick up a Wheat Thin and pop the whole thing into her mouth. Aurora reaches over, picks up a Wheat Thin, and pops the whole thing into her mouth just like she had seen Rana do. Only thing was, Aurora was not quite ready to handle a whole Wheat Thin at one time.
That is how we become more like Jesus. We watch and observe what He does by immersing ourselves in His Word. We then do what we have seen Him do, even if we may not be quite ready for it.
Jesus loves that we try. He doesn’t expect perfection. He doesn’t mind that it’s messy. He is thrilled that we want to be just like Him. He even promises in Ephesians 3:20 that He will help us more than we can ask or imagine by His Power that is at work within us.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more
than all we ask or imagine,
according to his power that is at work within us,
Sweet Sisters, it is not by our power that we are transformed to look and act more and more like Jesus. It is by His power. Allowing Jesus to radically change us into His image gives us the capability to become powerful fighting machines for Him in the battle between good and evil.
Personally, I would rather be transformed into a powerful Princess Warrior!!
Either way, when Jesus moves into our hearts, He is not willing to let us remain the way we are. He is immediately going to start knocking down walls to open up how we think. He is going to put in windows to let in light so that we can see our world better. He is going to do whatever it takes so we look more and more like Him. Remember, though, He will not force transformation on us. We have to be a willing participant. Are you willing?
Debbie