There are lots of movies and TV shows about “Transformers” these days, and no, not just the mega-million dollar movies directed by Michael Bay. For years, the entertainment industry has capitalized on our fascination with transformation, going all the way back to the 1931 film “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” Superheroes like “Spider-Man,” “The Incredible Hulk,” and “Wolverine” all involve extreme forms of transformation. On the small screen, reality TV shows like “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” and “The Biggest Loser” have cashed in.
The reason all of these are smashing successes is because our human nature seems to want to see improvement. We love dramatic change. We all want some part in the makeover business, whether in ourselves or watching it in others on a screen.
God is big on transformation, too.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” —2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
You can see from this verse that God doesn’t associate transformation with rehabilitation or improvement. In His eyes, transformation is about being brand new. Death of the old and resurrection into the new. That is the Christian life.
In the third chapter of John, Jesus has a conversation with an ignorant-yet-seeking religious leader named Nicodemus. He tells Nicodemus that to have an authentic, eternal, life-saving relationship with God, one had to be brand new.
“Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.’” —John 3:3 (NIV)
There’s a classic sports parable that helps illuminate this truth involving Roy “Wrong Way” Riegels, a first-team All-American and team captain for the University of California football team in the 1920s. Riegels was so good that Cal’s coach called him the smartest player he ever coached. Unfortunately, one big blunder in the 1929 Rose Bowl came to define his sterling career. In that game, Riegels picked up a Georgia Tech fumble along the sideline, got turned around, and then ran almost 70 yards in the wrong direction! The play later resulted in a safety, Cal ended up losing the game 8-7, and the nickname Roy “Wrong Way” Riegels was born.
In our spiritual lives, all of us could be nicknamed “Wrong Way.” We all come out of the womb running in the wrong direction because of the sin nature we inherited from Adam and Eve. When God leads us to a saving relationship with Him through Christ, we recognize our sin and wrong-thinking. We confess to a holy, forgiving God who came to earth as Jesus and died for our sinful, wrong ways. We repent and discover His mercy and grace as He forgives us and erases the debt that we owe for our sin. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead proved that He is God, and when we trust Him as Savior and Lord we are born again—transformed from spiritual death to life at that instant.
However, after you are saved, there is also a long process of transformation where the Holy Spirit—occupying your life because of your new birth in Christ—begins to form you into the image of Jesus.
“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”— Romans 8:29 (NIV)
That process is sparked through a challenging training ground. For the athlete and coach that training ground is sports, where there are two ways to compete and coach: God's way or man's way.
Before I became a Christian, I only knew man's way of playing and coaching. After I gave my life to Christ, I had the capacity to choose to play and coach God's way, allowing the Holy Spirit to put my sinful, selfish nature to death and raise Jesus' perfect, unselfish nature in and through me. I had adapted the Apostle Paul's words into my career!
“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 (NIV)
It’s great to be on God’s team after placing your trust in Christ. But the story doesn’t end there. God wants to transform you into a great player on His team, and He doesn’t give up on you even if you make “Wrong Way” mistakes. Greatness in God’s economy isn’t based on how you compare to someone else; it’s allowing Jesus Christ to transform you into His image, which will result in a new, absolute best you. It’s not about self-improvement, but instead the Holy Spirit uses tough, challenging situations to produce Christ-like character that glorifies Him.
Real transformation is a constant process where a Christian's mind is constantly and consciously renewed in Christ. And it's happening in each of us every day—while we play, coach or take on any endeavor in life.
--This article appears in the September/October 2014 issue of FCA Magazine. To view the issue in its entirety digitally, click here: Sept/Oct 2014 Digital
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