“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” (Romans 12:2).
To be conformed means to be like everybody else, and to fit into what is all around us. It also means to act according to tradition or accepted standards; to do what everyone else is doing. We all like to be accepted, and not to appear different from others around us. But our verse today tells us not to be conformed to this world, but rather to be transformed. The Greek word for transformed is metamorphoo, from which we get our English word metamorphosis.
Perhaps some of you have studied science and biology, and have heard that term when you learned about caterpillars turning into moths and butterflies. When this happens, they are transformed into something different from what they were before. This is what the Lord wants us to do as Christians.
This does not mean that we deliberately dress in a weird way, or insist on driving horses and carriages instead of cars. It does not mean that we do not use modern conveniences such as telephones, computers, and washing machines. Rather, it means that we do not adopt the attitudes and practices of this world in a moral way. It may mean that we sometimes dress differently, for the kind of clothing that may be acceptable in this world is not always pleasing to the Lord. Our whole outlook should be, What would be honoring to the Lord? It should not be, What is everybody else doing?
When we walk with the Lord, we become more like Him. If we, by faith, behold “the glory of the Lord,” then we “are changed into the same image from glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18). The word “changed” is the same Greek word translated “transformed” in our verse today. To be changed “from glory to glory” simply means that more and more we will become like Christ. It is wonderful to be like Him, more and more!