Let God Transform You

Romans 12: 1-2

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Reactions: Today’s meditation caused me to renew my pledge to dedicate all I do to God. Not only is this a form a prayer, as I’ve noted in the past, but it’s actually a way to worship the Lord. By worship, I mean simply praising and honoring the Lord, expecting nothing in return.

I was also uplifted by the idea that I can be transformed into a new person by changing the way I think. But this cannot come from my efforts alone; I must ask God to change my attitudes, and then be open enough to let Him transform me. I realized that one reason I’ve been successful at maintaining a normal weight after decades of obesity is that I changed the way I think about food. I didn’t do this on my own, but by the grace of God.

There are other areas where I want to improve, areas that affect not my body but my soul. For example, I often vow that I'll talk less about myself and show more consideration towards others, making sure that they feel valued, appreciated and loved. During my prayer time I ask the Holy Spirit for His help in these areas, but when I’m out and about, on the phone, or writing e-mail, I often forget to turn to the Spirit for guidance and help. I fall into my old habits of boasting, not listening to the other person and arranging things that work out the best for me. Now I realize that I will probably continue in these habits until I change my way of thinking: basically, that it’s not all about me! Even my desire to use spiritual gifts for the good of the community is about me to some extent; I’m looking for validation and personal satisfaction as part of the package. Not that I think it’s bad to get satisfaction from serving the Lord; it’s just that this should not be my primary motivation.

At the end of my meditation today, I asked God to change my self-centered way of thinking so that I can become more like Christ, the way He wants me to be. Perhaps this will be a lengthy process, but one I take up willingly, and I know my request will be granted. And as I get closer to attaining these Christ-like qualities, I will truly be able to use them to do whatever is in God’s plan for me, a plan that is good and pleasing and perfect.