WHERE’S THE TRANSFORMATION?

BY PR ISAAC CHANG

Every living organism grows. Conversely, every dead thing will not grow. Are we growing in the Lord through His Word, or we prefer to grow through the personal encounter of God’s presence instead? Can we have both? If we did have both, why aren’t we transformed to be more like Christ? Are we finding ourselves struggling with anxieties, fears, and doubts? Is the Word (seed) of life that once sowed in us somehow got choked up? In some past situations, our failed attempts in applying God’s truth might have affected us to rationalize God’s Word further. Thus, we might have fallen into a state of giving up on God. What could be more challenging is when we begin to tell others that God’s Word doesn’t make sense, and it will not work. We might end up telling others that the “God” in the Bible doesn’t understand us. Hence, we might even stop growing and feel complacent without the concern for transformation in Christ. Perhaps, we might even think we have reached certain maturity and contentment of our Christian life. Is it true or false?

When we stop growing, we stop transforming in Christ. We become stagnant. Are we becoming a stale Christ-like believer? Jesus said in John 12:24, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Take a breath and think, did Jesus say that we must die before we can grow and bear fruit or transform? When we are born into this world, we collected knowledge and experiences from it as we lived through the growing up years. As we receive God’s revelation from His Word, the worldly elements in us will naturally go against God’s holy elements. It is a clash of worldliness and God’s holiness. In fact, both cannot co-exist. If we try to marry both, it will be a catastrophe. However, while we surrender ourselves to God’s Word by faith and letting go of the worldliness in us progressively, we shall see the transforming power of God causing us to be more like Christ.

When I went through similar “Growing Strong” lessons in my early Christian life, I shared the Gospel with my family and friends. Both learning God’s Word and putting it into real life application happened “just like that” (a typical American way of putting straightforward reasoning into action). Today, all my family members came to Christ because of my journey of obedience and faith in God’s Word. If I did not respond to God’s Word, I never would have shared about the Gospel and transformation in me to touch lives around me. And I did not stop there, I continued to grow in obedience and faith towards God’s Word. I did doubt God’s Word like most of you. But if I did not search for answers from God’s Word, I would be untrue in both my doubts and faith towards God’s Word.

Do you desire to grow and transform?

Will you put your faith in His Word with obedience?

There is no end in learning and applying God’s Word. Unlike the education and corporate world, we can rest after we finish one lesson or project. But for us to be more like Christ, we need to continue learning, walking, and trusting in God's Word. We need to continue in sharing and journeying with others through God’s Word. We can then be transformed as a collective body of Christ. THEREFORE, TRANSFORMATION IS SIMPLY OBEDIENCE TOGETHER WITH FAITH LEARNING AND APPLYING HIS WORD ENDLESSLY.