God is in the business of transforming people. No, He’s not a character from the film ‘Transformers.’ Based on the hugely popular cartoon and toy range from the 1980s, ‘Transformers’ revolves around a war between two sets of robots for supremacy on earth. Optimus Prime is the leader of the Autobots, who have travelled to earth to protect mankind from Megatron and his evil army of Decepticons. Meanwhile, young human Sam Witwicky buys his first car, which just happens to be Autobot Bumblebee, and soon finds himself embroiled in the battle to save the planet. These two tribes of ancient alien robots can shape-shift into items of our technology (thus spawning a whole range of toys to captivate children’s imaginations!) We all like the idea of transformation, but don’t always understand what spiritual transformation looks like.
Romans 6 shows us the shift in allegiance that Christ brings to our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin, but have a new master, a new allegiance. We died with Christ so that we may live with Him and for Him. We have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God.
God’s purpose is not that we might be happy, that we might live successful lives in the way that we often define success (money, marriage, children, good jobs, good reputation etc.) It’s not that these things are wrong or that we shouldn’t aspire to them. It’s more that they are limited ambitions and aspirations. God’s purpose is outlined in Romans 8:29: “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”
God is transforming us so that the sin-stained image inherited as a consequence of Adam’s sin is replaced by the image of Christ, who lived a life of total obedience to God and therefore regained the true purpose for humanity. “We all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Cor 3:18)
It’s a bit like a Rolf Harris picture, though. The artist used to entrance me on Saturday evenings, daubing paint on a canvas and asking us “Can you tell what it is yet?” His artwork appeared totally random, until suddenly the picture was revealed… looking effortlessly like the cartoon creature it was supposed to be representing.
God’s work in our lives can seem like ‘daubs of paint’, splashed randomly on. Tragedy comes and we don’t understand how that can fit in with His revelation that all things work together for the good of those who love God (Rom 8:28). The mundane continues, day by day, and we fail to see how this ‘great plan’ we have read about is being written in our lives. But even though we may not see the picture yet, the Great Artist is actually at work, painting the image of His Son, shaping our lives so that we become like Jesus. John says, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2)
We may not see His image clearly in our lives yet, but God is at work transforming us into that image. Man, made in the image of God, will again look like that. How amazing is that?!