Transformation means change, and most of us resist the idea of change.
But growth, by definition, means changing, and again we're commanded in Romans 12:2 to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. So don't be afraid of change, embrace it!
Peter wrote a section in one of his letters to the church that used to be very confusing to me. He says this in 2 Peter 1:5-7:
"But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love."
I didn't at first see the rhyme or reason to this order of things. He's obviously building up something because he keeps saying to add one thing onto another. When I realized that adding to implied growth, and I began to look at these verses through a lens of spiritual growth, I got a big AHA. This is a growth sequence from beginner faith to genuine agape love, from baby Christian to mature Christian. Before we work through each step of the sequence in upcoming blog posts, let's talk about two things.
What's the End Goal of Growth?
The goal of this growth is not to make yourself a better person (though you will be a better person). It's not to gain more knowledge. It's to absorb more and more of the character of Jesus Christ into your heart and radiate that out into the world. The Bible refers to this as "the fullness of Christ." Ephesians 4:13 says it this way:
"This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ."
What's It Gonna Take On My Part?
Notice that Peter says that this will take diligence. If we allow ourselves to slip onto the path of least resistance, we'll default back to our heart of flesh which does NOT look like Jesus at all. An old preacher friend of mine used to say, "You're either moving forward or backward in your Christian walk, there is no staying still." That's because we're always swimming against the current of the world, our own flesh and the enemy Satan. If we relax, the currents of the enemy's kingdom push us under. You and I have to be intentional about our spiritual growth, it won't just happen.
So now would be a good time to ask God to manifest that favorite fruit of the Spirit known as self-control so that you can commit to being diligent. It starts from a foundation of faith, which we'll look at in the next video.
This is why we pray like David did in Psalm 139:23-24:
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my concerns, and see if there is any rebellious way in me, and lead me in the ancient way."
He will help us, He will teach us, He will transform us!