Spiritual Transformation, NOT Behavior Manipulation预览

 What Does a Transformed Life Look Like?

Wow, so now I have “arrived” and don’t have to do anything other than sit back and watch God do His stuff, right? Well, not quite. 

Think of when a baby is born, is that the end of their growth? No! They grow in size and in maturity. The same is true of my Christian life. I will be in a constant cycle of growing until I go to heaven. But that shouldn’t discourage me. That should ENCOURAGE me, because that means I will continue to become more and more like Jesus as I mature in my Christian life. I don’t have to have it all together right now!

When you look at the air in a room, it looks relatively pure and clean (my perspective). However, if a ray of sunlight appears, the light instantly reflects on tiny dust particles that were there all the time, but were invisible to me. 

Think of one dust particle as an area of my life or an “issue” that God illuminates from time to time, bringing it to my attention (God’s perspective). My responsibility is to be attentive to the Holy Spirit so that He can easily show me what areas of my understanding and/or behavior He wants to change at this moment. Then my responsibility is to listen to and obey the guidance of the Holy Spirit, knowing He will never burden me with more than I can handle at any one time, and He knows what is in my best interest. 

That means I am constantly being transformed on the inside. Metamorphosis is the process whereby a caterpillar is transformed into a butterfly. Note that a butterfly is not just a caterpillar with wings pasted on! And as a true transformed believer, I am not just my “old self” with Jesus “added on.” I will be in a continual process of transformation, which is exciting and liberating because it means He is working to give me abundant life now – and eternity with Him! 

So what does a transformed life really look like? What will God transform me to be?

• I won’t just “stop” some behaviors, but how I think about them may change.
•  I will daily want to know God better, seeking opportunities to be with Him.
• I will love God more and begin thinking more and more like Him – His worldview is becoming my worldview.
• I will love others with God’s unselfish, generous love, something I am incapable of doing in my own strength. 
• God will use me for His purposes, often with my changed behavior impacting others.
• I will have peace deep in my soul that is not dependent on external circumstances or other people.
• I will be confident that I will spend eternity in heaven with God.
• As I trust in the Lord and do not trust in my own understanding, He will guide and direct me. 
• I will still be tempted to believe Satan’s lies, but as I rely on the Holy Spirit, He will help me resist and overcome temptations.

Transformation is a process that will continue until I leave this earth. God will continue pointing out the dust particles that He wants to work on with me. And as I abide in Him, I will surrender these areas to Him until He shows me another dust particle, and so on. It’s actually an exciting path that God is continuing to make me into the image of His Son.

Throughout this process I will experience Spiritual Maturity, Spiritual Fruitfulness and become a Spiritual Reproducing Christian, bringing others into their own personal relationship with our God!

Prayer:  Lord, I look forward to my transformed life and I want to maintain an openness to your course corrections, because I know that you have a marvelous and unique design and purpose to my life.

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