Are you a conformer, or a transformer? In the New International Version, Romans 12:2 exhorts us, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." For me, the power of those words is found in the conflict between transforming and conforming, and that is what I am pondering today.
Both conform and transform are action words, verbs, which require something of us.
According to Merriam-Webster, to conform one must act in accordance with prevailing customs, be similar, be compliant. When we conform, we are in harmony or accord with those around us. In other words, we change how we act or conduct our behavior in order to fit in or be a part of the larger group. There is no inner change required. Conformance is superficial, exterior, vague and indifferent. To conform, we must simply put on the right persona, like a new dress or a cute pair of shoes, and we are done.
To transform, Merriam-Webster tells us, requires a change in composition, structure, character or condition. Transformation is a more in depth process, requiring a change to our fundamental self. It is internal, genuine and complete. To transform requires a shedding of the old in order to bring forth the new. Transformation implies struggle, discomfort and some amount of loneliness, an internal battle of the heart and mind.
We are taught to conform from our first moments in life. In fact, those who cannot conform, at least to some extent, risk ostracism and exclusion from common society. When the baby cries, we comfort and shush them. We potty train. We teach how to play nicely together. We send our children to preschool to learn how to sit still and listen and do as we say so they are ready for "real" school. We talk about being ladies and gentlemen, and teach them manners. We buy them the latest fashions, we drive them around in cars that look like everyone else's, they participate in activities with thousands of other kids. Conformity is relatively painless, because it doesn't require us to do any internal work to achieve it.
But for the Christian, something more is required.
The struggle for transformation is a life long conflict, one that is never completed until our dying breath. The battle is often waged in silence, because only we know our heart and mind. Only we can effect change in who we are, decide whether we will be in the world or of the world. We alone must do the work to bring about the death of the old, sinful nature to rise from the ashes like a phoenix, new and different and right with God. I think that baptism is a symbol of the transformation that has to occur if you are a lover of the Lord. We drown the old, sinful self in the waters of baptism, and emerge a new person, transformed by God and the blood of His Lamb for all time.
God expects and encourages us to test his plans for our lives. He sent his own precious son to show us how to live in the world, but not be of the world. When we conform to the world, we achieve momentary satisfaction, a transient one, at best. When we are transformed into God's own image, we will find life in perfect union with him.
Which path are you on? Are you content to be conformed to the ways of the world, comfortable now in following your own desires for your life? Or will you be transformed in the Spirit, uncomfortably searching for God's will in this life to find peace in paradise with him? The choice is yours, but God is already preparing your room.
