Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Conforming

The past few days at work have been hard. It seems that there have been a thousand little issues that have snowballed into one big avalanche of stress! Office equipment that doesn’t work, conflicts in scheduling, break downs in communication, it seems that nothing will go right for us this week and it's tiring. My greatest source of frustration, however, is my own attitude and the way I have sometimes chosen to respond in certain situations. I have come into work with little motivation, cursed at my constantly ringing phone (a lot of good that does) and been short with my co-workers. As I left work the other day, I pulled out of the parking lot fighting back tears. It’s discouraging to look at my behavior and realize that I sometimes conform to the "images of the world" and therefore present an inaccurate reflection of Christ. A few weeks ago my pastor, Chad Davis, preached from Romans 12:1-2. He pointed out that conforming is something we do and transformation is something that happens to us. Lately I have been feeling as if that transformation is not happening fast enough. It doesn’t seem as if I can do enough “renewing my mind” to keep up with the temptations that I face each day. Chad exhorted the church to “set our minds on the things of God and keep them there until we are radically transformed into people who look like they are a part of the true Kingdom of Christ.” One of the ways I have found to do this is to read the Puritans. In The Bruised Read, Richard Sibbes says,

“In temptation it is safest to behold nothing but Christ the true brazen serpent, the true ‘Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world’. This saving object has a special influence of comfort to the soul, especially if we look not only on Christ, but upon the Father’s authority and love in him. For in all that Christ did and suffered as Mediator, we must see God in him reconciling the world unto himself.
What a support to our faith is this, that God the Father, the party offended by our sins, is so well pleased with the work of redemption! And what a comfort is this, that, seeing God’s love rest on Christ, as well pleased with us, if we be in Christ! For his love rests in a whole Christ, he loves him and us with one love. Let us, therefore, embrace Christ, and in him God’s love, and build our faith safely on such a Saviour that is furnished with so high a commission.”

All my circumstances could change today, but the battle with my sin will be there as long as I am in this flesh. It is good to know that Christ is not only stronger and more constant than my sin, He is the Victor who has already won the battle.

4 comments:

Michele said...

"Lately I have been feeling as if that transformation is not happening fast enough."

I find that I "judge" the work of transformation in my life almost every day. I recently told my pastor that I could see no evidence of the fruits of the spirit in my life. He was too kind to laugh at my presumption, but he gently reminded me that I was imposing my own expectation of what transformation needed to look like upon God's perfect plan.

IF we believe in God's sovereignty as much as we say we do, then we have to believe that his plan for conforming us into the image of Christ is right on track.

Anonymous said...

Michele, that is so true. Thanks for reminding me.

j razz said...

Good post Kellye. Now you have to write more posts that are of this quality. You set the bar for yourself :)

j razz

Anonymous said...

Oh no Jer, don't say that!