From worm to butterfly

Romans 12:1-2

12 I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.  2 Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]. AMPC

Romans 12 is a well quoted verse and we most probably are very familiar with it.  However, I do wonder how long we really stop and deeply ponder these verses.  Sometimes, when we are over familiar with a particular scripture, we think we know what it says and we probably do with our heads, but do we really KNOW what it says with our hearts?  

When Paul admonishes us to give our bodies as a living sacrifice - he calls it our reasonable service and spiritual worship.  Do we even think about the fact that our bodies and what we do with it - or do not do with it - is spiritual worship?   Definitely food for thought...

In verse 2 Paul explains to us that we should not be conformed to this world, but that we should be transformed by the entire renewal of our minds, so that we can know what the perfect will of God is.  We so often ask ourselves and others the question, what is the will of God for us in this or that situation.  I think when we ask that question we somehow expect some hyper supernatural revelation (which of course God gives to us in many instances), but after nearly 35 years of walking with God, I also see in this verse that Paul teaches us that the more we are transformed into the image of Christ and the less we are conformed into the image of the world, the more we will know what the will of God is for us.  It's sort of a given.  We get to know Him and His character and then there are just moments where we will know it is not the will of God for me to drink that beer or cheat on my wife or be impatient with my child.  I just know that simply because I know it is not part of God's character, and I have discovered His character, and I am not conforming to the world anymore but I am being transformed into the image of Christ.  The word transformation really means a metamorphosis - the process during which a worm becomes a butterfly.  It is an utterly complete transformation to the extent that the worm is not recognizable anymore.  That is the kind of transformation God has in mind here.  There is a stage in this transformation where the worm has been completely dissolved into a kind of soup and out of that the butterfly develops.  You see the worm had to die to itself completely before the butterfly could be born and develop and mature.  So it is with us.  We need to die to self so that we can develop into the image of Christ.  

Look at this short video of this process of metamorphosis as it just illustrates this process so beautifully..

From worm to butterfly  

 

Point to ponder

 Let us ask Jesus to show us this week which area of our mind is not entirely renewed yet and allow Him to then transform that area into the image of Christ.  

I surrender