Becoming a butterfly . . .

The dictionary says that metamorphosis, usually concerning insects or amphibians, is the process of transformation from an immature form to an adult form in two or more distinct stages. In people, it means “a change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one, by natural or supernatural means.”

I like that last definition because it agrees with the way the Bible uses the Greek version of this word. Here is translated “transformed” and is about being changed from the inside out . . .

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 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 12:1–2, emphasis mine)

The first eleven chapters of Romans describe salvation: why we need it and how God makes it happen. The next section describes how salvation transforms our lives. Those who have been given the life of Christ will do these things, beginning with presenting or offering their entire self to God, worshiping Him as living sacrifices.

A young missionary once said that “the only problem with living sacrifices is that they keep crawling off the altar.” At the time, that seemed funny but true. Now I realize that it isn’t the living sacrifice that does this because it never has the desire to move away from Jesus. Rather, it is the old sinful nature pulling me away from being totally dedicated to the Lord.

The rest of this passage is a big clue to why that happens — my mind needs to be renewed. Like the caterpillar that goes into a little case and is changed to a butterfly, my way of thinking needs renovating. However, I cannot do that; it is a supernatural task that only God can do.

I’m going through written copies of my thoughts about God from years past. Some of them are solidly biblical and giving me a smack because I saw truth then but it didn’t change me at the core of how I think. Perhaps I didn’t obey or I didn’t spend enough time in silence and meditation. I allowed distractions to take me off somewhere else.

Whatever the reasons, eventually many of those lessons did change my life, but only after experiences and trials that pressed me again and again back to that altar. I kept crawling off because my heart resisted God’s ideas in favor of my own.

Yet these two verses have always held a special place. I know that change is about yielding to God and resisting sin. I know that transformation is about thinking His thoughts and recognizing the dangers and depravity of my selfish ideas. It is also about focus. The butterfly is formed when the caterpillar is motionless. It does not try to fly before God forms its wings. Then it struggles to get out and, in that trial, it is strengthened. I tend to resist the trials, rush to the next things, and not take the time to focus on what God wants to do with me.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, this process of sacrifice and transformation is the way to discern Your will. I try to find it the hard way (by foolishly trying my own way until I run out of ideas). Far better to let to take time to let You do Your renovating work in my mind. Only then can I be certain that doing things Your way is good, acceptable and perfect!

Today’s thankful list . . .

God gives me time to learn the lessons of change.

He also gives me the mind of Christ so I can think His thoughts.

Opportunity to help a young family move that has never moved before.

The wildlife reserve right beside our home with its walking trails.

After weeks of pain, my feet are not sore!

Progress on another quilt.

Costco’s seed and nut brittle.

Live theology — don’t argue about it

After attending Bible school and two different seminaries, it seems to me that many theologians spend too much time and effort working on ways to express their beliefs and opinions and not enough on living them out. This is not to disparage but observations teach an important reality; talking and arguing about theological beliefs can do more harm than good.

Today’s verse comes from this passage. It tells me to avoid wrangling over theology; get it right then behave accordingly . . . 

Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” (2 Timothy 2:14–19)

I’m not sure what the “irreverent babble” involved in Paul’s day, but some of it seems to have involved the second coming of Jesus Christ. Christendom wrestles with the same problem today. Theologians, authors, and speakers focus on their predictions of when Jesus will return. They spout and write books that rapidly sell, with both author and readers forgetting that Jesus said no one will know that day.

In Paul’s day, ideas on this topic upset Christians and made them think they had missed it. In recent years, the same ‘swerving from the truth’ has upset the faith of many and caused some to sell everything and sit on a roof waiting for Jesus to appear.

Other false teaching has spread like gangrene. While the Bible says apart from Christ we can do nothing, and we should not trust in our own understanding but rely on the Lord for everything, just this week a Christian told me that “God helps those who help themselves.” Instead of relying on Jesus, he was messed up by this widespread but untrue teaching.

Jesus said the truth is what sets us free. He charges me to “rightly handle the Word of truth” which means avoiding theological arguments. If what I learn from the Bible is true, it will change my life — and that is far greater proof of it than anything I can say.

Finding what is acceptable . . .

The night was dark and rainy. We woke to dullness and rain clouds, but just now, the sun came out. I don’t have a problem with gloomy days (and we really need rain), but I do enjoy that warm light shining through my window.

Today I’m again reading verses about light and darkness. My devotional reading illustrates the verses by saying that the shops in Damascus have no windows. If you want to buy something, you have to take it outside into the light to see its quality. This is also true of life’s choices.

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. (Ephesians 5:8-10)

When I am in spiritual darkness through disobedience, I cannot see the will of God. To find out what the Lord accepts, I must examine it in the light. Light is about truth and doing what He says. That is, if God says to do something and I do it, then He has given me light and I am walking in that light. This isn’t about understanding the reason for the command up front. I might not, but in the doing of that command I test and discover its true value.

Other passages explain that I must walk by faith, not by sight. Jesus is not here to physically show me what He wants, and neither does God always explain why His way is the better way. Instead, I am to walk by faith and do things because I trust Him, not because I am convinced that such actions makes sense. What He asks may seem odd, or strange, or even wrong, but experience shows me that I often find out what is totally right and acceptable after I walk in obedience.

As a new Christian, there were not many tests to my faith, but the older I get, the more my faith is tested. However, just like the shopper in Damascus, and just as I test God’s commands, God also takes me into light to see if I have flaws in me. He checks me out to see if I will do what He says. Will I obey simply because He gave the command? Or do I have to see the reason or the sense in it? I say I trust Him, but do I really mean what I say? It is at this point that many Christians stumble.

One of the biggest issues in the church today is the role of women. Discussion of that topic usually produces more heat than light because many women find themselves in situations where the biblical commands do not make sense. Rather than test them and find out their acceptability, several groups try to excise them from Scripture, or at least find reasons why these commands do not apply to them. Their faith is being tested.

These verses apply also to those who have no faith. A close relative belongs to a cult that seems dedicated to their beliefs, but they choose to obey only a few parts of the Bible that they agree with. The rest of the Bible is interpreted to suit their preferences. As a result, they have no light and no assurance about the will of God. They walk in darkness.

Hebrews 12:1 says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1, NIV). This is a God thing. Without faith, the invisible is uncertain and assurance is absent.

The amazing part is that when God puts the life of Christ into someone, He also gives light. This is an ability to know what cannot otherwise be known. For instance, in Christ I am totally sure of my eternal life and absolutely positive of the existence and power of God. I cannot see Him, nor do I always know what He is doing, but faith enables me to walk in the light, even to trust Him when His commands do not seem to make sense.

My faith is not perfect. Sometimes I do not do what He says. I wander back into the cave where it is dark and get stuck in that darkness until I confess my disobedience and lack of faith. He then pulls me out of the darkness, gives me light, and tells me to walk in it. I’ve tested and learned, this time in a negative sense.

I’m shaking my head as I write this. It sounds so easy, and it would be except that my sinful nature (that is dead and separated from God) still rears its ugly self and tries to convince me that cave-dwelling is the better way. No to faith in God actually means Yes to faith in myself and my own ideas. Part of all this testing also involves learning that faith in me is simply unacceptable.