Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
From God’s perspective, to renew is not merely to begin again, oh yes, it is so much more. It is to be made new—continually—so that our mind is literally being renovated by God Himself, always growing more into the likeness of the Son. Like the relentless waves of the sea that wash upon the shore, God’s renewing work must keep coming—wave after wave of grace, truth, and Spirit—cleansing what the world has deposited, smoothing the rough places, softening sharp edges and corners and reshaping us according to His design. Without that continual washing, our mind grows dull and encrusted; but under the steady surge of His presence, we are made new again and again, until the very contours of our thinking reflect the beauty of Jesus.
To live in God’s presence is to live before His face: the true, righteous, unveiled face of God. As that face shines on us, we are transformed, and His likeness begins to be seen in ours. Coming into the likeness of the Son is our highest privilege and greatest strength against darkness: the more we bear His image, the more we share His life, joy, and purpose as true image-bearers. That’s a big deal. Don’t just skim over that.
With every layer of our facade the Lord peels off, the closer we get to living out our true face, a real life, not just our presentation face. Most of us find it almost too easy to talk about what others have done, or what “they”, the infamous “they” have NOT done. James 5:16 does NOT say to confess your neighbors’ faults one to another. Take note of that. Similarly, we find it difficult to talk about ourselves and how we fall short, living life as a poser, i call that “poserism”. We tell ourselves that if we were to tell God our deepest secret, you know, the one which keeps us locked in a dark prison cell, we really believe when we open our eyes Jesus will be gone, just like everybody else … and we’ll be, every bit as alone as we always thought we were. Eeyore said, “i knew it, as soon as i was my true self, you’d leave just like everyone else. Oh well, i might as well go stand in the dark somewhere.” This is why it was so, SO very important when God said in Hebrews 13:5, in reference to Deuteronomy 31:6, my paraphrase, ““ I will never, under any circumstances, desert you, nor give you up, nor leave you without support, nor will I in ANY degree leave you helpless, nor will I forsake or let you down or relax My hold on you, absolutely, positively, and most assuredly not!””
The Lord wants us to be renewed and to experience His continual renewal. In Romans 12:2, being renewed means more than simple repair—it is closer to a rebuilding of the inner life. This does not mean stacking new habits or better behavior on top of the old foundation. It means allowing God to remove what is weak, distorted, or even false, and to put in place what is stronger, truer, and more lasting. Only God knows how to do this deep work in a human soul without destroying the person He is transforming.
Have you ever been driving at night, lost in an unfamiliar place, trying to follow someone’s directions in the dark? It feels almost impossible to stay oriented. In the same way, an unrenewed mind clouds our ability to recognize God’s direction. Everything becomes muddled, and we can scarcely tell which way is up. Without a renewed mind, our true face stays buried under layers of posing and people-pleasing as we try to appear acceptable instead of simply following God. This kind of pretending is a dead end. It keeps us bound to the shifting opinions of others, hides the very self God wants to renew, and produces a false version of us that can neither walk closely with Him nor stand securely when pressure comes.
When we verbalize to the Lord all our worst parts, notice that He doesn’t leave, like everyone else has. You may feel abandoned, you may feel alone, but faith is not subject to feelings, never, ever is faith subject to the whims of feelings. God is committed to our well-being, so much so, we can know, i mean really, really know, we are free and won’t be living in the gray scale of a dismal life where our loudest words are only whispers from our mouths no matter how loud we scream. When the Lord renews our minds, He establishes better vision, makes room for His pro-vision, with, in this case, the pre-fix “pro” meaning anything that advances the vision. When we allow the Lord to renew our mind, He opens our eyes to see Him more clearly, and He is always improving on that clarity. As the Lord renews our mind, the sky will seem bluer, sounds will be clearer, more distinct and more identifiable. The funny thing about anti-depressants is they don’t allow us to go too high or too low, we are always damped down, restrained, and controlled. But when the Lord renews our minds our highs are more sustainable, and our lows are met with trust and confidence in God. There comes bounce in our step and lift in our voice.
In letting go of all our lies and all our secrets, suddenly we are free to live the life we’ve always dreamed we could live. Maybe some of us should give ourselves permission to live. In fact, believe it or not, the Lord enables us to live the life He has dreamed for us, and it’s the truth, His dreams will come true, for me and you.
Let’s put away from ourselves our nonsensical rationalizations, and our childish, vindictive thinking along with our irrational fears. The word conform means to “fashion or shape one thing like another”, particularly in its outward appearance. Friends, Romans12:2, to this day, still presents the best idea yet, “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, making you a copy of itself.” Paul is literally saying, “Stop allowing yourself to be framed and squeezed into the shape of the world you live in.” We all have a tendency to conform to the philosophy of this age, literally driven by advertising, and a deep need to “fit in” no matter what the cost.
A man said to me once, “That ecstatic state of hormonal magnetism, which is often mistaken for true love, has been used to justify a great many mismatched marriages that have dishonored the Lord.” The world calls the “ecstatic state of hormonal magnetism love” normal, but without God renewing our mind, we will buy into the lie, leaving us to live out our days in hand-wringing and trying times.
These days, constant pressure from culture, media, and even well-meaning people pushes us toward conformity and away from real transformation. It seems many well-meaning churches are satisfied with conformity rather than transformation. After all, being shaped by the world is easier than going against the grain to be transformed by God. Conformity is a low-cost transaction and asks almost nothing of us in the moment—it feels safer, more comfortable, and less costly. But over time it hollows us out. It leaves us with a borrowed identity, a muted conscience, and a life that never becomes what God intended. The short-term ease of “fitting in” eventually turns into long-term emptiness, regret, and a subtle ache of knowing we settled for less than the renewed mind and true face God offered us.
Let the Lord renew your motivations, your inclinations, your preferences and standards, and live the wonder and destiny God has for you.
What do you think?