Be transformed

I’ve been working on memorizing Scripture lately, and let me say that it’s not as easy as it was when I was little. I still remember the sense of accomplishment I had when I memorized Psalm 23, and I’ve remembered it ever since that day. Church activities, summer camp, and the likes of Psalty and G.T. gave me a solid foundation in Scripture, but I don’t think I’ve really tried to memorize anything – other than SAT vocabulary definitions and Spanish verb conjugations – since sixth grade.

Now, I am hard-pressed to commit just a verse or two to memory, and there are no sticker charts or silly prizes at Sunday School to spur me on. Nevertheless, I’m working on it, and realizing the many benefits of having the Word of God in my head and my heart. One of these benefits is simply having God’s words on my mind throughout the day. As I recite them to myself over and over, I turn them around in my head and have a chance to really think about what they mean, in a way that’s different than when I’m just reading the Bible.

Conform yourselves no longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…

This was one of the first passages I memorized. This is a familiar verse to me, but I’ve looked at it in a new light lately. I used to think of this transformation as a one-time event: ask Jesus into your heart, and BOOM!, like some great magic trick, you are transformed. But as I come to a deeper understanding of God, His grace, and our humanity, I realize that this transformation has to come on a daily basis. Each morning, I wake up a sinner, wanting to conform to the pattern of this world. Each day, I am desperately dependent on the transformation that would allow me to get out of my bed and step onto the narrow road.

Therefore I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. This is your spiritual act of worship. Conform yourselves no longer 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. Romans 12:1-2

Lord, bring transformation. Renew my mind through the understanding of your word.