Transformation by Grace

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2

Transformation is a gift—grace. Change occurs when we learn certain lessons about life and put these lessons to good use—when we make decisions about how to think and act that alter our course for the better. This makes us better Christians.

Once we have been transformed and changed, it is time to teach others—to help them learn the lessons we have learned. I only wish the woman I am today could reach back in time and teach the young woman I was. I would try to help her see what is so clear to me now. That human love is important, but not that important. That the love of God is more fulfilling than I could ever have imagined. That loving myself is not a sin. That we are not alone. That there are what Joseph Campbell calls “invisible hands,” which come to our aid when we are ready to change.

My mission for that last 38 years has been to write about change and offer my readers what I could not give the young woman I once was—lessons. These lessons can easily be applied to anyone who is experiencing his or her own metamorphosis.

Transformation and change is a process which can be summed up as follows.

(1) First and foremost, we must have a complete change of attitude—a submission to the natural transformation process. This new attitude is a gift of the Holy Spirit and it is ours for the asking.

(2) We must develop a personal relationship with God and an invite the Holy Spirit into our lives.

(3) We must inventory the behaviors we want to change and painstakingly change them. This also involves grace, for only the Holy Spirit has power over sin.

(4) We must make amends to anyone we have hurt and pray for their forgiveness.

(5) If our transformation gets stalled it is okay to ask for counseling but only if what we learn is put to good use.

(6) We must find a community. This community is both a metaphorical and physical place. Metaphorically, it is that place in our hearts where our souls resided before the trauma of our childhood and where today we are free and unblemished spirits unencumbered by our fears and illusions. Literally, it is the church where we can incorporate the disciplines of prayer, meditation, confession, study, submission, and worship into our lives—all the things that support our new life in Christ.

(7) Finally, when we are ready, it is important to pass on the gifts we have received and the lessons we have learned. To reach out those who have not yet found Christ. To talk to them and be an example. To treat them with compassion as Christ treats us. To give to them what we did not get a children but finally found from God. This will keep our own transformation from eroding.