And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
-Romans 12:2
I've heard the first part of this verse many times in conjunction with messages on being yourself, so when, during a quiet time, I read the full verse in its proper context, it provided me with a full day of meditation. As I took the verse apart phrase by phrase, God revealed to me such incredible truths! As I said before, I had heard all about anti-conformity, but I wasn't sure how to go about it until I read the second part of the verse, and then it made so much sense! I realized that if I was filling my head with worldly things then I was going to conform to the world, but by filling my heart and mind with God's word I would slowly begin to look more like Him. This really excited me; I had never heard about this remedy to conformity, and it was so simple. Then I read the last part and I had to stop and think for a minute. What did 'prove' mean? I looked it up in "Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words" and this simple definition: "to test, prove, with the expectation of approving", really brought the whole verse into a new light. When we begin to renew our minds, not only will we begin to look less like the world and more like Christ, but we will be better able to discern, "to test" and "prove" His will. So often we over complicate the process of discerning God's will for our lives, but here He has given us a simple and effective formula. He is telling us that if we will only abide in Him and continually renew our minds by spending time in His word, then His will, is not going to be so hard to find, and that is an incredible promise!
1 comment:
Totally true!
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