What2Say2Day? Continuing with our look at Romans 12, I would like to talk about my thoughts on verse 2. Yesterday I mentioned that Paul's message of a new life in Christ begins with pleasing God not by giving sacrifices, but by being a sacrifice. I also mentioned that pleasing God is as simple as developing and maintaining a good relationship with our Creator and creation itself; especially a good relationship with our fellow humans.
Verse 2 has Paul saying the following to both Judea-Christians and new Christians (aka Gentiles). "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." Another WOW!
Please don't be upset with me but I want to take everything in between the first word, "Do", and whatever comes before the hyphen. In other words here's what we're left with; "Do what is good and acceptable and perfect". Now I want to reword the stuff we took out like this; "not by doing what everyone else is doing, but by becoming a new person in Christ."
It's almost apparent to me that even in the days of Paul people were more concerned about what others thought, doing what they needed to get ahead, or the accumulation of riches or power. Why else would he be concerned with people wanting to "conform". The adage "keeping up with the Jones" could be applied then as much as it can be applied now.
Paul is reminding the Christians in Rome to not worry about the accumulation of things that belong to "the world" but to instead start doing things that God wants us to do, things that are good and acceptable - and if possible, perfect. How do we do that? By living and doing for others and (again) developing a relationship with God, others and creation. Isn't that what Christ did?
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