Romans 12:2 (NKJV)
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
A caterpillar is one of those things that would scare many of us. Who wants a hairy thing crawling all over you? But the caterpillar goes through one of the most amazing transformations you will ever see changing from something that a lot of people find disgusting into something of beauty that people want to embrace and are no longer scared of, a butterfly. For this transformation to take place, the caterpillar has to die in a sense. Science tells us that the caterpillar digests itself before that transformation can begin. That is the same way we have to come to the end of ourselves and die to self so that Christ can begin to live and reign in us.
Now that is real transformation and the differences between the two are very clear. Their appearance is different you cannot confuse the two. One has wings and the other does not. One flies and the other crawls. Even what they consume is very different.
Paul tells us to be transformed and that process begins in our mind for the Bible tells us in proverbs that as a man thinketh in his heart so is he. Your thoughts determine which direction you go and eventually who you become. Paul is saying, don’t think like the world anymore because if you continue thinking like they do, you will be like they are.
Once we were like the caterpillar crawling all over and feasting on the dirt of the earth. Our vision was limited but God in His mercy has transformed us to be like the butterfly. We can now fly, we are beautiful creatures and we feed on the nectar from the flowers and not the dirt from the earth anymore.
When we make the word of God our companion, when we read it and meditate on it, when we implement it then we are transformed. Our thinking becomes different because we begin to understand the eternal principles that are in God’s word, we have a new point of reference. We begin to understand who we really are in Christ Jesus and we no longer allow the world to limit or define who we are. We begin to live a life of faith a life based on what the bible says.
Reflections;
In what areas of your life have you seen transformation?
If transformation starts in the mind, are you deliberate on what you feed your mind with?
Is the word of God your companion? How often do you read it and refer to it?