The Renovation

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

THE RENOVATION

Rom 12:1-2

12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any 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.

NIV

Having considered as a result of God’s mercy, we are to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and agreeable to God, which is our spiritual act of worship. We need to still take a long look at this conforming and transformed concept. First, we should note that Paul is telling them to not conform any longer to the pattern of the world, or the age, which is the most direct meaning of the Greek word translated as the world. The no longer is implied as there is no such word in the Greek interlinear version of this verse. Nevertheless, it is implied that for some time we were pattering our lives according to the age we live in. But what is that pattern? It would seem right to say that sin is at the forefront of this world’s pattern, yet the core behind sin is idolatry. The pattern of this world in regard to spiritual matters is the worship of created things. This could be applied to materialism, or something like environmental, with the worship of nature. Phrases like, “Tree hugger” have been used to describe the most passionate nature activist. While many succumb to the pattern of prideful accomplishments. We could spend pages on the various ways in which we could conform, in one sense or another, to the pattern, in all its complexities, of this world. However, the main pattern of this world is sin which stems from idolatry. We cannot think like the world does, as we are to be transformed, or go through a metamorphosis, changing everything about ourselves, which is done through the renewing of our minds. As we are familiar with going through a transformation, changing from being a condemned sinner into a child of God who is forgiven, or going through a metamorphosis, changing our entire being from one thing to another, we should focus on this renewing our minds. This renewal is the reason for the transformation thus we should understand what it means to renew our minds. The Greek word used here for renewal includes a renovation, a complete change for the better. We can see the before and after pictures of some old kitchen, that went through a complete renovation and now is a much better-looking and functional area. This is our minds. First, our old minds were not very much to look at and were not very functional as an image bearers of God. In fact, our minds reflected the image of this world. Now, we have renewed, and renovated our thinking, and revolutionized the way we think about this world and how we think about God. We have put all things under His authority through the way we think. We can say all the right words, appearing to be people of faith. We can even pray with many words, some even eloquent, others seeming spiritual, but it is what is going on in our mind that causes this transformation. In order words, we can build fancy facades, but what are the plumbing and electrical systems like. What is going on in the depth of our thinking? Have we really changed how we think, and it is for the better? Has our mind gone through a complete renovation?