Transformation

A repost from my blog because Mark is one tough boss. :)


So, speaking of transformation...that's what my pastor has talked on the last couple of weeks. Yep, I'm gonna tout two more of his sermons, Salt & Light, part one and part two.The Holy Spirit has undoubtedly been convicting me in this area of transformation. Is the Word of God, through the power of the Holy Sprit, distinctively affecting me? Is my life changing? Is my mind being renewed? Most importantly - am I being obedient to the the things I already know, or am I continually driven to pursue and obtain more 'information?" Knowledge without a transformed life is of no substantive value at all. And I'm not talking about merely an outward alteration of behavior; we can all conform under compulsion if need be. I'm referring to true inner transformation, resulting in true changes in behavior.In wrestling with God on this issue, Roger and I talked about Christian maturity. He posed these thoughts. It's always nagged him that, historically, the "litmus test" for evaluating your spiritual growth has been to look back at the last year or so of your life. If you see that you're 'sinning less,' then you're maturing in the faith. Could it be, though, that what more accurately defines maturity in a believer has more to do with relational rather than than behavioral? Put another way, could maturity in Christ be defined as an increased or increasing desire to know God, and a lesser desire to satisfy ourselves? The standard of measurement - amount of sin - is incorrect. Sin, after all, was fully taken care of at Calvary. Roger compared it to using a ruler to calculate your weight. For me, this is pretty profound and gives me more to ponder...