Read Romans 12:2 and Galatians 1:4

August 2011 began the biggest year of my life.

I found myself in the central Florida town of Sebring at a major crossroads in my life. While I was a follower of Christ, I was, in no way, honoring the Lord through how I was living my life. There was unrepented sin in my life and my maturity level was that of, well, a 19-year-old.

Even today (29, married with a son, Mattie, and a daughter, Emma, to be born any day), I look back on that time in my life and remember how important that was for my life. It was that year when I finally released control of my life to Jesus and began cleaning up my life, moving in the direction of becoming a more fully devoted follower of Christ.

In what way has God transformed your life?

A huge part of being a living sacrifice, as this series has been teaching us, is being transformed. Romans 12:2 talks about how we need to not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

The first step in living transformed is to identify areas in our life where we are conforming to the world. Where are our priorities out of line? In what way are we blending in rather than standing out? While it’s different for everyone, understanding our weak points helps propel us into the transformation that needs to take place.

Secondly, Paul tells us that we need to renew our mind. Personally, I would love to know what Paul was thinking when he penned these words. What does renewing your mind look like? For me, this involved looking at my life in a whole different perspective. Instead of living in the here and now, how can I live with my future in mind? How can I begin thinking long term? What decisions do I need to make in order to put myself in the best position to be a beacon of light to people?

Next, this involved me taking action. Good thoughts don’t hold much weight if they aren’t acted upon. I needed to cleanse my life of the sin that I had allowed to creep in and I needed to begin building the foundation of my life upon Christ. Tough decisions needed to be made and battles needed to be fought. Surrounding myself with people who would help in the process, not just agree with everything I said, was huge. Honestly, I needed to start listening to loved ones who had been trying to help for so long but I never let in.

How can you live a transformed life? I would encourage you to identify areas where you are conforming; generate next steps and take action!

Paul tells us within his letter to the church in Galatia that Jesus gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age so why would we live in bondage to sin? If we have been freed, why not live transformed?

Begin the transformational process today!

Jake Lawson