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Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God\u2019s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God\u2014this is your true and proper worship. 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\u2019s will is\u2014his good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:1-2).

Years ago, I came across this quote regarding Romans 12:1-2: \u201cBecause believers are live rather than dead sacrifices, they have a tendency to want to crawl off the altar. That's why this deliberate decision to place oneself at God's disposal must be made daily.\u201d It resonated with me, so I tucked it away in my digital file on Romans 12. In our reflections on this passage, we\u2019ve gotten to the place where we are exploring what it means to stay on the altar.

Last time we looked at the idea of being \u2018conformed to the pattern of this world.\u2019 Conformed means \u2018to assume an outward expression that does not come from within.\u2019 In our passage, it means we imitate non-Christian values and concerns rather than Christian ones. Therefore, Paul calls on us to stop mimicking the world's system and start becoming \u2018transformed by the renewing of our minds.\u2019

The term "transformed" means "to assume an outward expression that reflects what is deep within." We are told to pattern our external lifestyle to match our internal identity as the children of God. The key to this process is our minds, for it is our thought life that controls our attitudes, feelings, and actions. Thus, it is written, \u201cWe demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ\u201d (2 Corinthians 10:5). That sounds extremely demanding. Are we up to the task? No! When Paul tells us to be transformed, he gives a command, but in a passive voice. He doesn't say, \u2018transform yourself; he says, \u2018be transformed.\u2019 We can't transform ourselves; it is something God does to us. But what then is our role?

1 Corinthians 9:25 says, "Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever." This may be only a matter of word play but it may be a main reason why many people give up on transformation or accept outward appearances as pseudo-transformation: we spend ourselves trying to be transformed, when the Bible calls us to train to be transformed.

There is an enormous difference between trying to do something versus training to do it. Take for example a marathon. How many of us could run a marathon right now? Even if we tried, really, really hard? But many of us could run a marathon eventually, if we trained for it. I cannot play the piano even if I tried really hard. Others can, not because they try harder than I do, but because they have trained.

On occasion, when my children were small, they\u2019d try to do a jigsaw puzzle. I often chuckled when they took out a big puzzle box, opened it up, took out two pieces and tried to put them together. As I watched, I knew what is coming, \u201cDad, its too hard. Can you help me?\u201d So, I\u2019d take the box and dump all the contents onto a big enough surface, then I\u2019d turn all the pieces right side up, and sort them. Only then, would I begin trying to put them together. You see, my mother taught me and I had some experience. Now my children have experience and follow my example.

Next time we will use a different illustration about \u2018being transformed?\u2019 For today, I invite you to sit with this passage, let it percolate in your grey matter. Think about your life, how did some major moments of transformation happen for you? Why do you keep trying to crawl off the altar?

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