Be a Butterfly, Not a Robot–By Dean Marini
Romans 12:2 is one of the most heavily quoted verses of Scripture. “Do not conform 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.” Mindset is a topic discussed heavily by pastors, corporate trainers, authors, sports and life coaches along with just about anyone that teaches on success. Because He created us, God knows better than anyone, the need His children have for a Christ-centered mind.
Our minds are bombarded every day with more information than at any other time in the history of mankind. Those devices we carry have almost become appendages rather than appliances. All of that input has left our minds, and by extension our emotions, overworked and vulnerable. That weakness is why our Creator inspired the Apostle Paul to encourage us to seek transformation.
The popularity of the film franchise “Transformers” has affected the way many of us view the phrase transformation. The robot Transformers switch back and forth between their robot forms and the form of something else that allows them to conform to their environment. That’s a good analogy for the struggles so many of us deal with in our mindset. Rather than let a new revelation permanently transform us, we apply it for a while then revert back to our old ways.
James 1:8 warns us of the dangers of being “double-minded” and that is a problem very prevalent today. We are trying to live a “Transformers” like existence that allows us to have supernatural faith and strength when we pray in a crisis, while we live a life that conforms to our human desires. Living that dual purpose life may work for alien robots on a distant planet but it’s detrimental to people that desire the abundant life Jesus wants us to have. We know a house divided cannot stand and our minds are the same.
Paul writes to the Roman Christians (and all of us today) of the need for renewal. That “change in our minds” will equip us to leave behind the thoughts, ideas, emotions and feelings that the enemy uses to rob us of our victory in Christ. We’ve learned we can’t do the same thing over and over yet expect different results. Why then do so many of us allow the same negative thoughts to wreak havoc in our lives? It’s also easier to conform to our old ways than undergo the process that leads to real transformation.
Unlike the robots in the movies we need to stop shifting back and forth. The transforming God wants us to do is better described as a metamorphosis. We need to radically become a new creation. It’s the same change we see when a caterpillar enters a cocoon but emerges as a butterfly. It becomes a totally new creature that takes on a whole new existence with a completely different set of capabilities.
That’s the “life to the full” that Jesus promised us. A new life where we are no longer bound by the old habits, hurts, frailty or sin. We take on the “mind” of Christ; one that delights in His word. Hiding it not just in our hearts, but allowing it to live in our mind and take captive every thought. That kind of transformed mind leads us away from the things of the past to the love and will of God. Butterflies have no desire to go back to the life of the caterpillar. They know they were created to fly. Jesus longs to give you an abundant life, allow yourself to be truly transformed.
Written by Dean Marini
