“Stop Mowing the Weeds and Start Enjoying God”
As I was mowing my yard last week, I thought about the idea that for the past years I have been mowing a lot of weeds. My yard will look nice for a couple of days after I mow but those weeds just grow back. And then it’s time to mow the weeds again. It caused me to question if that’s the way I, or we, deal with the sin in our lives? We just mow it off and make it look good for awhile only to find it just grows back. I think we can get quite good at keeping the weeds mowed, making everything look nice and put together on the outside. As followers of Jesus, we are not called to just mow the weeds and keep the outside looking religious. God’s desire is to uproot and kill the sin in our lives. If you’re anything like me there are a lot of weeds to kill, and it could seem like a daunting, heavy, and burdensome task. But what if I tell you that the way to kill the weeds in your life is by enjoying God? What if the Spirit-led life is a life of enjoying God? If that is true than the Christian life is not a grit your teeth, pull yourself up by the bootstraps, do this don’t do that religion. It’s an enjoyable relationship with God Almighty that results in us desiring the weeds to be killed in our life so we can enjoy God even more.
“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV
The word for transformation is metamorphoo it is used four times in the New Testament. Translated twice as transfigured and twice as transformed. Metamorphoo describes the process by which what’s on the inside makes it to the outside so that that everyone can see what’s on inside.
Metamorphoo describes Jesus’ transfiguration in which His glory shined through His garments so that what Jesus really was on the inside was made manifest on the outside to Peter, John and James. “And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.” Matthew 17:2 ESV Transformation means, becoming like what you really are on the inside.
As a disciple of Jesus, “Who are you really on the inside?” I’m not asking what do you feel like or based on your external actions who are you. I’m asking, “As a disciple of Jesus, what is your essential inner identity?” The Word of God says you are the righteousness of God, a son or daughter of God, the temple of the Holy Spirit, a joint heir with Jesus, you are chosen, you are royalty, you are holy, you are free, you are no longer a slave to the fear of death, and on and on we could go. That’s who you really are on the inside, that’s your essential inner identity.
Transformation is the work of the Holy Spirit to produce an outward expression of your true inner identity. Just like with a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly. The butterfly was always in the caterpillar; and through the process of metamorphosis the butterfly is now exposed externally.
What do we do?
In this passage in 2 Corinthians 3:18 metamorphoo is in the present tense which indicates that this transformation is an ongoing process which will not be complete until we see Jesus. In addition, the passive voice indicates that the power that produces this transformation is an external Source, the Holy Spirit of God. We cannot transform ourselves any more than we could save (justify) ourselves. “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” Galatians 3:3 ESV So, is this just “let go and let God?” No, we do have a responsibility, continually behold God’s glory. We need to position ourselves to behold the glory of Jesus, and as we do the Holy Spirit transforms us to be more like Jesus by helping us see the glory of Jesus and putting to death the old fleshly desire. Paul says we are transformed into Christ’s image by beholding the glory of the Lord. And it’s the Holy Spirit who enables us to behold the glory of the Lord. But how does that transform us?
Seeing His Surpassing Worth
We are changed by seeing the glory of Jesus in the Word of God. “Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.” 3 John 1:11 ESV This verse is teaching us that evil happens because of a lack of seeing (beholding) God and good happens because of having been with God. “No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.” 1 John 3:6 ESV If we keep on sinning it’s because of a lack in seeing and knowing God. This is important because all true life-change that honors God and has a spiritual worth to it comes from seeing the glory of God, not from making religious lists of behaviors and trying to copy them.
“Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.” Psalm 16:9 Does anyone not want that? A glad heart, your whole being rejoices, your flesh safe and secure? How did David get that? “I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.” Psalm 16:8
Paul tells us in Philippians 3:8, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” Paul had beheld the glory of Jesus us and the Holy Spirit helped Paul see it as surpassing worth. Jesus’ glory IS the all-surpassing worth of the Universe. What was the result of Paul seeing the glory of Jesus as all surpassing worth? When Paul felt Christ’s all-surpassing worth, he was so satisfied that he turned from everything else to gain more of Christ. Hot dogs can taste good and can provide temporary satisfaction until you eat a nice medium-rare fire grilled steak. After tasting the beauty of the steak there will no longer be a desire for the tube steak.
And when we turn from everything else to gain more of Christ, we will obey, for two reasons. First, because our hearts won’t be drawn to sin since we are so satisfied in Christ. Second, because our hearts will want to obey so as to gain even more of Christ. All this happens as the Spirit helps us feel Jesus’ all-surpassing worth.
Through His Sword
“and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,” Ephesians 6:17 ESV Notice whose sword this is. It is the sword of the Spirit. This sword has lots of uses. But one is to cut away the scales of unbelief that grow over our spiritual eyes. When our vision is clouded by these scales, we see less of Jesus’ worth. But the Spirit uses His sword, the word of God, to cut away those scales. As we pray over God’s Word the Spirit will cut away our unbelief, so we once again see and feel Jesus’ all-surpassing worth. The Spirit cuts away the scales that keep us from seeing the glory of Jesus and then we desire to obey because we want the glory of Jesus more than the glory the sin offered. The Spirit than puts to death that desire of the flesh.
Living Hope Ministries 