READ: ROMANS 12; 2 CORINTHIANS 4:16

I felt a complete emptiness. What was the purpose of life? As a newer Christian, my life wasn’t really “fixed.” I still felt empty. Was life just about being good?

Sitting in my room, I found myself reading Romans 12. Sure, I’d skimmed by it once or twice, but strangely, this time I was stuck on the second verse. Reading past it proved quite difficult, and after a while, I stopped trying. Squinting closer, I stood arrested at the clarity found in the words. “Don’t be conformed to this world.” I was still for a while, pondering its meaning.

My thoughts turned to Jesus’s closest disciples. In following Jesus, they rejected the ways of the world. As they walked with Jesus, their lives began to look different. I started to wonder, what made me stand apart from the world? Was I just like the rest? I realized that I turned to conformity as a way to meet societal expectations, and simultaneously as a defense against being disliked or rejected. Yet, I realized that Jesus doesn’t call us to be conformed to this world, just fitting into the mold, but instead to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

Shocked, I stared at that word. Transformed. Not just physically, or emotionally, but entirely. Once a pastor told me, “When you follow Jesus, your mind is renewed.” I immediately understood the source of that insight was this verse, Romans 12:2, and I smiled.

That night, I prayed silently that Jesus would renew my mind and transform my life. Since then, I’ve noticed how His Holy Spirit has been leading me. That week was busy, and so was the next. However, an unexplainable peace settled over my life in a powerful way. No longer did I feel empty. No longer did I have to walk without a purpose or talk without a meaning. Life without Jesus doesn’t satisfy. Living transformed by Jesus leads to life abundant (John 10:10). • Evelyn Cardriche

• Life can seem monotonous sometimes. We can feel stuck in certain habits or thinking patterns, feeling like there’s no purpose in life. But Jesus loves us, and He wants to transform us. When we put our trust in Him, believing in His death and resurrection, He gives us the Holy Spirit. He begins transforming us from the inside out, and He helps us see that we “are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). He shows us how He is moving in and around us, and He invites us to be part of His good work. How can this kind of transformation lead to peace and joy?

Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God. Romans 12:2 (WEB)