“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 (ESV)

A dear friend prayed this verse over me yesterday, and since then, I have been pondering its meaning for me during this season of my life.  My mind keeps returning to the concept of bondage versus freedom.  One of the truths that God has been patiently speaking to my heart over the last six months concerns the destruction of idols in my life, those I have slowly and painstakingly resurrected over time.  Like security, comfort, and self-indulgence.  I have unwittingly traded God’s kingdom, His glory in me, for these falsehoods, these worldly pursuits.  For me, this is partially what it means to be “conformed to this world” and its systems.  In embracing these lies, even in small ways, I am accepting what our culture says is good and acceptable and right.  However, by accepting the chains of these untruths, I am becoming more and more enslaved and ensnared, denying the redemptive power of Christ at work in me to save me from myself.

In contrast, by allowing God to renew my mind through His truth, I give His Spirit permission to enlighten every dark corner of my heart that I’ve tried to hide from Him.  This is the central precept of Scripture– moving from a state of enslavement to freedom in Christ.  In this present season, the renewing of my mind means, in part, rejecting what I have come to accept as the truth about my life and learning to embrace who God has created me to be.  In that, I can discern His good and perfect will for me.

God has been continuously renewing my mind in each new season of my pursuit of Him.  I do not believe that I can achieve total transformation in this life.  However, as St. Francis of Assisi so aptly stated, this tranformational process is, at its core, learning to “love the leper” within me– taking responsibility for everything that is within me, both what pleases me and what ashames me.  And fully surrendering all of it to my Father, my Creator, and my Redeemer, so that He may be glorified.