The Real Transformer

Recently, a movie came out on DVD called, "Transformers." My kids watched the cartoon series when they were younger, and I have to admit, I kind of enjoyed it myself. I liked the movie, too. But, Romans 12:2 tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. I guess that's like being born again. There are a lot of people that try to say that you don't have to be born again. I think you have to be born again pretty much on a daily basis.

In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus talked about the seed falling on different types of ground. There is hard ground, stony ground, thorny ground, and there is good ground. The main point here seems to be that, as we share the Gospel message, we need to be aware that different people are going to react to the message differently; some won't accept it at all. It's also important to realize that each of us are still receiving the message; we never stop learning. We get to choose, each day (sometimes each hour) if we are going to be good ground or not. We may decide some days that we are stony ground, and we are just not going to let anything sink in (or grow). Other days we may be thorny ground, so worried about paying the rent, and buying groceries, and making the car payment... Or maybe the boss has been riding our case, or somebody started an ugly rumor at work; and we forget that, in the long run, none of that matters.

In Second Corinthians 13:5, it says to examine yourself, to see whether you are in the faith. Just because you're in the church, it doesn't necessarily follow that you are in the faith. Some days, I'm afraid to examine myself, because I don't want to know where I stand with God. I just have to pray for forgiveness, and trust that He hasn't given up on me (even though I would have, if I were Him). I have to ask Him to help me become the man that He has always wanted me to be.
In the Parable of the Tares, Jesus taught us that tares (weeds), sometimes spring up in wheat fields. You don't want to weed out the tares, because the roots get entwined with the wheat. So, one simply waits until harvest time, and when the wheat is harvested, then the tares are burned. Again, the point is, one could be right in the middle of a good church, and not be right with God. The big difference between a wheat stalk and a tare, at least at harvest time, is that wheat bares grain, but tares don't provide anything of use (except when they are used as kindling). The good news is that God knows how to transform a tare into a wheat plant.