Holy Nonconformists

 

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world…”

—Romans 12:2a

When I think of the label “nonconformist,” I think of the beatniks of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. But then, I’m an old dude.

Today, people might think of nonconformists, such as the “Occupy Wall Street” or “Black Lives Matter” adherents. In either my vision of nonconformists or the current vision, the word has a somewhat negative connotation to those outside of the nonconformists themselves.

But, do you realize that those of us who follow the Lord Jesus Christ, and have received the gift of our salvation from sin given to us freely by a God who chose us to belong to Himself before the foundation of the world, are called to be nonconformists? That’s right! We “Christ’s-ones” are called by God to become nonconformists.

Notice what the Apostle Paul wrote to the fledgling church in Rome, as recorded in Romans 12:2:

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.

We are called to step away from conformity to the patterns of this world. We are called to allow the indwelling Holy Spirit to so transform our minds and renew the patterns of our thinking that we will become testing grounds for the will of God. And, in this process, we are to experience the fullness of how very good, pleasing, and perfect God’s will for us really is.

As we start another day of our lives, we need to remain fully aware that, by following in the footsteps of Jesus, we are becoming totally new creations. As this process moves forward, we will no longer think, act, and be the way we once were. Rather, we will become holy nonconformists—representatives of a holy God to a needy and dying world.

 

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