Romans 12:2 - Don't Copy The Ways of This World, Copy The Ways of Christ

Romans 12:2 - Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." The older I get the more I realize that things will change regardless if I want them to or not. Everything changes from simple stuff like clothes, cars and hair styles to the big things in our lives. Don’t get me wrong, not all change is bad, not all change is good, it’s just that the world and the people in it are always evolving and changing before our eyes. What we have to watch for is that we do not drop our guard and let ourselves be changed by the world we live in. Our verse today is a reminder to us to not copy the behavior and customs of this world. The people of this world is not the ones we should be trying to please. The customs of this place are not those we should be interested in conforming to. What we should be striving to do, what we should hope to mimic is the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. He did not come to earth to fit in; He came here to stand out. He did not come here to follow along, He came to lead! As Christians we are called to do the same thing with our lives. We are His ambassadors to the world around us. It is up to us to set the example for others to see. It is our job and duty not to be transformed by the world we live in but to be transformed by the love and the grace that can only come from the living God. By standing apart from the behavior and customs of this world we can start to learn what His will for us is. Think about it, if you were on a cell phone call in the middle of a sporting event or a concert, you probably would not be able to get much from the conversation. There would be too much noise and distraction around you and it would drown out what you were being told. Same holds true for us as Christians. How can you hear what God wants from you if you are weighed down in the ways of the world? Learn to be in the world but not of the world. Ask for the courage needed to say no to the ways of man and say yes to the ways of the Spirit. Change is going to happen regardless of what we do. Styles and fads will come and go and what is in today will be gone tomorrow. God is constant. You want to embrace change in your life? Embrace Christ and let the Spirit change you. God has a plan for you, allow yourself to be changed for His use today.