| How to be Transformed into His Image Michael Edwards
When I look around my church, or any other church I have visited, I do not see people who are looking for a way into sin, even though many may be caught up or trapped in sin. I see people who are looking for a way out of sin.
Traditionally, these people are pointed to the law and told to follow the rules. In other words, they are directed to their self-efforts, self-righteousness, as the key to the transformation they seek. The same self-effort fallen humanity has relied on since the fall. Paul tells us of this error in Galatians.
Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Gal 3:3 NAS
There is a difference when a person comes to Christ and places themselves under His care. Transformation happens God’s way and not man’s way. We are no longer relying on ourselves; we are relying on Jesus.
What You See in the Mirror is the Key to Your Transformation
As Christians, we desire to be more like Jesus, but as we look in the mirror, we behold our failures in the flesh. We struggle and battle unsuccessfully, attempting to produce the attributes we see in Jesus. We try to love our neighbor, be patient, stop sin, be peaceful, and we often fail. Unfortunately, if our way does work for a season, it often leads us to pride and the judgment of others who we now view as less Christ-like. These struggles require no faith, just flesh.
God’s ways are not our ways; His way to be transformed is NOT FOUND in the works of the flesh, IT IS ONLY FOUND in Jesus Himself.
Mirrors reflect what we look like. Before we come to Jesus, we look at the law, in the flesh, as if we are looking in a mirror to see in truth where we fall short. After we come to Jesus…
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