Published by admin on 13 May 2016 at 01:27 pm
CONFORMING TO THE IMAGE OF GOD
We have all been through the “non-conforming” stage at sometime in our lives. As teenagers most of us were rebels of a type, not wanting to conform to what society was saying we should do. To some it was the way we wore our hair, or the way we dressed, or the music we listened to, and most of our parents probably thought we were a lost cause because we weren’t turning out like them.
I can imagine the grief many of us caused our parents, but, you know what they say, “What goes around, comes around”, and so when we started raising our own kids, we got a taste of the same medicine we gave our parents, with somewhat rebellious, non-conforming kids. And like those before us, we wonder if there’s any hope for the present generation.
My grandparents liked Opera and Big Band music, but in the 1950s, the radio station we listened to did something unique, they asked listeners to contact them to vote if they’d rather hear Big Band music, or the new Rock N Roll music. I loved music, and my mom wrote the station voting for Rock N Roll, and enough people did likewise that the station went to playing Rock N Roll from that time, so that’s what I grew up with. My grandparents thought we’d lost it, obviously, for not conforming to their musical taste. I remember asking Grandpa one time while listening to Opera on the radio with him, “Grandpa, is that woman in pain? She is sure screaming like it…” Somehow, Grandpa never got over me asking him that.
Well, I admit, tastes change among people from generation to generation. My mom dressed up each day to do housework, and wouldn’t think of leaving home without doing her hair and wearing high heels and a dress. I’ve seen today’s generation going to Walmart in stuff I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing, NOT EVEN AT HOME! Oh my, how things do change. It would make our prior generations turn over in their graves. But there is something that NEVER changes, and that is Christ Jesus and the ways of God.
From generation to generation, the call from God to us remains the same, as the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans chapter twelve:
Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
It seems each generation fosters its own particular brand of rebellion, so it isn’t anything new. And each generation, the LORD calls out to us to not to conform to this wicked and lost world, but to turn to Him. Why should we do that? in order for us to become conformed to His image, who loved us and gave Himself as the payment for our sins. Think about it: when God created the world and everything in it, He pronounced everything GOOD. God didn’t create a poverty-stricken, polluted world full of thievery and deception, wars and strife. No, He created everything GOOD, but from the very first generation of mankind, the devil deceived Adam and Eve to rebel against God. And the very first generation of children born to Adam and Eve did the first murder, with Cain murdering his brother Abel. It sure didn’t take long for Paradise to end, did it? And mankind has rebelled against God ever since. Tell me, how’s that working out for us today? Do you see the horribly high price of NON-CONFORMITY to the Word of God?
Today, as in every generation, the LORD is pleading with us to stop conforming to the ways of the world, and submit ourselves to HIS ways, so He may bless us. It is written in John 10:10, and most of you know this verse by heart: The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. We CANNOT remain in our naturally rebellious mode and live the abundant life that God so wants us to live and enjoy. Sorry, folks, it just can’t happen.
It’s only natural that we want to be blessed, for God created us in His image so He could have fellowship with us. It’s only natural for us to want good things, for we were not created in the image of poverty and evil, but He created us for GOOD. So how did things that God created for good, turn out so bad? It’s because we listen to the devil, and we end up taking on his nature. Look around, do you see all the evil going on in the world? Do you see all the deceptive business practices? Do you see all the strife and wars among us? DO YOU SEE GOD’S IMAGE IN THAT? NO? Neither do I. That’s why I know we have conformed, NOT to the image of Christ, but to the image of the devil.
Does God want to bless us? Sure He does, He never changes. But the problem is, WE have all become rebellious, spoiled brats, who insist in living contrary to God’s Word, and then we complain because things are not going as we want. DUH! “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired yet? Then it’s time for a change, friends, it’s time to heed to God’s pleadings for us to turn to Him with our whole heart. It is written in Isaiah 55:6-9;
Isa 55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
Isa 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Isa 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
Isa 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Each generation thinks we have a better idea of how to live than our parents did. But we just keep going from bad to worse on our own. It’s in your nature to WANT a better life, because way back in ages past, your Original Parent created you in His image. Why not turn your heart to Him today and let Him conform you to His Own image, and start living the life you always dreamed of, one of peace, blessing, and oneness with Him, as it was in the beginning of mankind. Maybe you’ve made some bad choices in the past. We all have. But your past doesn’t have to dictate your future. Call out to the LORD right now, He is quick to forgive and restore you to the place where you should have been all along. What are you waiting for? Do it now, and get to know the One who REALLY loves you. It’s good. GOOOOOOOD! Conforming to the image of God!