A Renewed Mind

“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.” - Romans 12:2

Should I take this job? Should we buy this house? Where should I attend college? Should I marry this person? Which church should I join? How should I handle this conflict?

Do any of these questions sound familiar to you? Our days are full of choices and our minds are constantly mulling over decisions…some small, and some that are life-altering. As followers of Christ, we desire to know and do His will. But sometimes it seems that there are more questions than answers. After all, we cannot open the Bible and find specific answers to all of life’s questions. So what do we do? How do we know which way to go?

Romans chapter 12 addresses this very question. And in the answer, the Apostle Paul uses two contrasting ideas: conforming to the pattern of this world and being transformed by the renewing of your mind. Only when we quit conforming – and allow God’s Spirit to transform us – will we be able to know God’s will. In other words, we must stop thinking and acting according to the world’s way of doing things. Instead, we must allow God to make us into someone entirely different – someone new.

Notice that transformation happens to a believer, while conformation is something done by a person. “Do not conform,” Paul writes, but rather, “be transformed.” Transformation takes place through a renewed mind.  The word renewing in this verse means, “a renovation; a complete change for the better.”  God is the architect and the builder of a renewed mind. If we continue to look for God’s will without a renewed mind, we will only end up frustrated and weary.

Father, today I offer myself to You as a living sacrifice so that You may transform me from the inside out by Your Spirit. Please show me any areas of my life where I may be conforming to the world. It is only when my whole heart is on Your altar that I can know Your will in every circumstance. In Jesus’ name, amen.