It Takes Time and Work
We were blessed to have a group of young people from Friends University lead our worship service this past Sunday. The message from Miles was great.
He’s a pitcher on the baseball team at Friends. He shared that he wanted to pitch harder and faster. To do this he needed to lose some weight and get stronger. This meant he had to eat differently and work out more.
Physical transformation does not happen with the snap of your fingers. It takes time and work.
The same is true for spiritual transformation.
In Romans 12:1, we are encouraged to present our bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God. Our bodies are temples (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Like everything else we have; they have been given to us by God. We should respect and take good care of them.
We should give both our bodies and our lives back to God. In Greek, verbs are more than a one and done thing. They are continual. We need to continually GIVE our bodies and lives to God. Transformation is an ongoing, never-ending process.
Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you can figure out what God’s will is—what is good and pleasing and mature (Romans 12:2).
When working out and lifting weights, you’ll get better results with a trainer. Someone to instruct you and to hold you accountable. The same is true for our spirits. We get better results when we follow Jesus’ lead and instruction. If we want to be more like Him, we need to spend more time with Him.
Being transformed is a choice.
We need to spiritually work out just like we do physically. We need to implement the same type of intentional action.
Transformation usually takes longer than we want. We are a want-it-now society. We don’t like taking the time and putting in the effort it takes for transformation.
Just like a good physical transformation won’t happen sitting on the coach eating candy, spiritual transformation is the same. You need to be careful what you consume and get up and do something.
We don’t have to do this alone.
Find a community of Bible believers for support, encouragement, and accountability. Choose to do the work.
If you want to be spiritually transformed, don’t be spiritually lazy.
