Look Out, World!

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2)

Anyone at all who knows me personally, beloved, knows that I love to play golf! And anyone who knows anything about the sport knows that it carries a special language all its own. For example, a "drive" is what you hit from a funny-looking hill called a "tee box." And a "chip" or perhaps a "pitch" is what you hit when you are close to the green. And a "putt" is what you hit when you are actually on the green. And you may have noticed that I have used the word "green" twice now without telling you what it is. Yes, golf certainly does have a language of its own!

One word that is so very important, however, and needs to be used far more than it seems to be today is the word "fore." Actually, "fore" is not so much just a spoken word as it is a shout of warning, as in "FORE!" It is the word that you should quite literally yell out as loudly as you can whenever you see that the ball which you have just hit is heading in the general direction of another person on the golf course. "Fore" is the golfer's way of shouting "Look out!" And any golfer who knows anything about the danger of being hit by a golf ball knows that the proper response to this word is to DUCK!

In the letter of the apostle Paul to the church in Rome, he urged believers to heed two specific commands, two shouts of "Look out!" if you will. The first of these we find in the word "conformed." The Greek verb suschematizo means literally "to fashion alike" in the sense of conforming oneself to a specific pattern of behavior. The word strongly describes seeking to be something on the outside that we are not really like on the inside! For us as Christians, Paul's caution is that we allow nothing to become part of our lifestyle that is like this present sinful age. The word also implies something that is transitional and unstable. Such behavior simply has no place in a Christian's life and so should be avoided at all costs.

The second command of the apostle Paul, another shout of "Look out!" if you will, is found in the word "transformed." The Greek word metamorphoo means literally what it says here and refers to our inner redeemed nature as Christians becoming visible in and through our attitudes and actions. In other words, instead of putting on a "mask" and acting like an unbeliever, something you are not, allow the real you, the one whom Christ made you by grace, to shine through!

Paul's dual command is his way of telling us as believers to allow your lives to shout to everyone around us - "Look out, world!" Just as a golfer yells "Fore!" whenever a ball he has just hit is sailing in the direction of another person, so we as Christians need to let our lives say, "Look out, world! Here I come!" That is what a truly "transformed" Christian will seek to do. If we want our world to see our Savior in us, then spiritual transformation is the only way. No amount of words spoken in evangelistic effort will mean anything until those who do not know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord can see Him lived out through our words and deeds.

FORE!

Ron