“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God — what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2
Whenever I read this verse from Romans 12 about being transformed, I think about an accidental pet I had once for three weeks.
When my children were four and six, my brother and sister-in-law gave them a butterfly garden as a Christmas gift. Now, those of you who are better than me probably love gifts like this. My mom, for instance, would have loved this for my brother and me when we were young. But my mom was a school teacher, and she got a kick out of any opportunity to teach us something science-y in a creative way.
While I do see the educational value in the Butterly Garden, my initial reaction to the gift was not one of excitement or joy because, as I said, I had a four-year-old and a six-year-old plus two dogs. So, all I could think of when they opened their gift was, “Oh, great. More lives to be responsible for.”
As I saw it, the only saving grace was that it was Christmas, which meant it wouldn’t be warm enough in Northern Kentucky until mid-to-late April. I hoped they would forget all about it by then, and we could act like this never happened. Unfortunately for me, the kids did not forget. As soon as the first signs of spring began to burst forth, my kids insisted that we pull out the butterfly garden.
If you don’t know how a butterfly garden works, I’ll give you the run-down. The garden consists of a netted butterfly cage along with a card containing detailed instructions on how to place your order for ten fuzzy caterpillars, which you then feed every day of their hungry little caterpillar lives.
Then, you watch as they cocoon themselves to the lid of the container. You then take the cardboard disc the cocoons are hanging from and pin it inside the netted cage. You then wait until they emerge as beautiful butterflies about twelve days later.
We ordered our caterpillars, and, long story short, nine of those little guys experienced a full transformation. Nine of them became butterflies with their long, sleek bodies, their full and beautiful wings, and their slender legs.
One, however, experienced only a partial transformation. Gimpy, as we named him, emerged as one-half butterfly while the other half of his body was stuck somewhere between caterpillar and butterfly. His legs on one side were long and sleek, while the legs on his other side were short and fuzzy. His butterfly side had both a forewing and a hindwing. The other side had only one small hindwing.
Something went wrong in this little guy’s transformation—something stunted his growth and left him trapped in the awkward state of no longer being a caterpillar but not quite a butterfly.
A butterpillar?
Gimpy couldn’t fly. He couldn’t even walk in a straight line very well. We released the other nine, but we hung on to Gimpy and hand-fed him for the rest of his little life.
Even though Gimpy was loved (Yes, we loved little Gimpy. We even had a funeral service for him when he passed away. We read a Psalm, said a prayer, and buried him under the rose bushes in our backyard.), even though he was well cared for, Gimpy was relegated to life on the ground because he didn’t mature and develop like he was supposed to. He didn’t get to soar like his friends. He didn’t get to experience the world the same way. He didn’t get to live to his full potential. The life he lived was not the life he was made for.
We don’t want to be like Gimpy living life only partially transformed, failing to meet our full potential. The truth is, through the love, grace, and mercy of Christ, we are no longer who we were. We are no longer caterpillars. We are new creations. So, if God declares us new creations, why would we want to stay stuck in old habits and mindsets that are all about the old life?
Friends, God will always love you. God will always care for you. But God doesn’t want you to miss out on your full potential. God doesn’t want you to miss the beauty and richness of His love working in you and through you to transform the world. God wants you to experience the power of His Holy Spirit in you. God wants you to learn, grow, and know His will. Nothing is more awe-inspiring and life-altering than growing in love for God and then embracing and living out His will on earth as it is done in heaven.
Will you partner with God and be transformed and grow into the new creation he has made you to be? Will you pay attention to the forces and influences that are conforming you to their patterns? Will you talk to God about the habits you’re stuck in that are keeping you trapped in an old life only halfway transformed?
To help you along your way to full transformation, consider these questions:
What conversations are you saturated in regularly? Are they positive and life-giving, or are they negative and stress-producing? What is one step you can take to decrease the amount of negativity and increase the encouragement and positivity when it comes to your conversations?
What type of media entertainment do you view and listen to regularly?
Are you involved in any groups whose focus is spiritual and personal growth and transformation? If not, name one step you can take to find a group. Name a person you can reach out to for help in this area.
Have you asked what God wants for your life? Talk to God about it. Ask God to reveal the areas where you remain unsurrendered and untransformed. Trust that God cares deeply for you and will speak the truth to you in love. Then, receive what God says and believe God for the change that is sure to come as the two of you partner together.
Do you read Scripture regularly? Begin a habit of Scripture reading. Romans 12 and Galatians 5 would be good starting points since you’re already thinking about transformation.
These are just a few questions to get you started partnering with the Holy Spirit for your transformation. As you do this good work, may you experience everything the Lord wants for you. May your discoveries bring you the fullness of joy you crave. And may the world be transformed a little more into God’s Kingdom because of you.
Rooting for you today, friends.
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