Considerations: The A's and B's of Transformation

Dear Child of God: Which of these two is the better description of your life?

A. “I am failing to do the good things I want to do in my relationship with Christ, and, instead, I am doing the bad things I don’t want to do in my fellowship with God”.

B. “I am putting to death the misdeeds of the body, I am free of fear, I love to wake up in the morning and call out, ‘Abba! Father!’, I enjoy the daily experience of knowing that I am a beloved child of God, I ‘consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the glory that is to be revealed to us’, I feel myself ‘groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies,’ and I am more than a conqueror through him who loved me”.

If your answer is “A”, the explanation is simple: you are living in your sark/flesh (see Romans 7). If your answer is “B”, the explanation is simple: you are living in the Spirit (see Romans 8).

Moving from “A” to “B” is also simple (albeit not necessarily easy): “those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit” (Romans 8:5), so, bring what you are doing in the flesh to the Spirit for the transformation you are looking for.

Or, as Paul stated a little bit later: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).

Of course, this is all an elaboration of what Jesus said so simply some little time earlier: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). If we deny our sark/flesh/self, and take up the life of the Spirit that is ours through the cross of Jesus Christ, we will find that we actually do follow Christ the way our new hearts want to follow Christ.

© 2014 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.)