Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer 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.

I couldn’t begin to count the number of times I’ve heard this verse used or have used it myself, but that’s all good and appropriate. The pressure to conform can be overwhelming at times. The Japanese doesn’t have it, but I kind of like the NIV saying, “any longer,” indicating that we have all conformed in the past. We all tend to get mired in what we have been, instead of looking forward to what the Lord is enabling us to become. Thinking we can do that on our own is certainly an exercise in self-deception, but trusting that God can and will do it in His grace and power is the best kind of faith. None of us are perfect at any point this side of heaven. We are never to be satisfied with that, but keep pressing in, as Paul so famously wrote of himself in Philippians 4:12-14. The power is not ours but the choice is, and we must be faithful and consistent in making that choice. After all, the world’s pressures to conform never let up. We may have a nonconformist streak, but if that is expressed only in things like hair color or style or tattoos and piercings, that’s simply conforming to a different part of this world, and is a literal dead end. We need to seek and strive to conform to the ultimate model and pattern set out by our Creator, and that is Jesus Christ our Lord. He certainly didn’t have an easy or long life (until His resurrection, that is) and that shouldn’t be our aim either. His biggest distinctive was that He conformed perfectly to God’s will, and that should be our aim as well.

This certainly applies to me. Yesterday we had the very moving experience of participating in the memorial celebration of the life of Phyllis Kaylor, who graduated to heaven five days shy of her 91^st birthday. Her official cause of death was Alzheimer’s Disease, and her cognitive abilities had been slipping for several years, but a brief video was shown during her husband’s remarks that was miraculous. She had gradually been losing her ability to speak, but when the “media minister” of the church they were attending asked her and her husband why they kept coming so faithfully to a weekly prayer meeting, she hesitated a moment and then said, very clearly and lucidly, that prayer enriches you. I wish I could remember the full quote, but I’m sure I can find it on the Internet, because it has now been viewed over 20 million times! She was certainly someone who followed the instructions in this verse, and I can do no better.

Father, thank You for the privilege of taking part in that service yesterday, and for the magnificent example the whole Kaylor family has been and is to so many. I pray that, like Leo and Phyllis, I may be increasingly conformed to the likeness of Your Son, for the blessing of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!