The Jesus Transformation

Of all the things God could have accomplished, becoming an infant is most fascinating to me. The Lord Almighty, El Shaddai, King of kings and Lord of lords, majestic, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, I AM transformed into a baby. Does this blow your mind like it does mine?

Transformation seems to be a normal theme in scripture. There’s all kinds of transformations taking place…formless and void turned into a universe, empty jars overflowing with life-giving oil, a dry wilderness morphing into streams in the desert, mourning into rejoicing, leprous skin into  regenerated epidermis, the precious body of Christ into sin itself, and the divine becoming human.  Apparently the artful hand of God clearly avoids stagnation as He desires us to be ever changing, from glory to glory.

And yet, the transformation of His One and Only Son of His love was just the opposite. The conception of the Holy initiated the mortal life of Jesus to be just like us in every way, yet without sin. He felt physical pain, cold, and exhaustion, in addition to mental anguish in the garden and the torment of human betrayal.  And we’re told in scripture that He “grew in stature and wisdom, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). Jesus had to somehow “grow” socially, mentally, spiritually, and physically just like you and me?? But wait…there’s more! Philippians 2:6-8 tells us that this Jesus “…made Himself nothing…took the nature of a servant… humbled Himself…became obedient”. Again, mind blowing!

So here we are, Advent is upon us. The beauty of it all can easily remove us from the above realities. We love the seasonal décor, the songs, the lights, and the merchandise. But just maybe, Jesus would appreciate us taking a moment to meditate on His humanity and how His transformational experience is a stunning example of what our own transformation can…and may I say it?…should look like.

The Christian, born-again experience will always manifest a change. The regenerated heart is evidenced by fruit, the result of a morphed mindset. Jesus could say He was the Savior of the world, but His works proved that indeed He was who He claimed to be. And so it is with us. The transformed heart and soul is imprinted with the fruit of humility. It doesn’t demand the center of attention, to be worshiped, or to be right all the time. This heart continues to serve a broken world in ways that convey the love of Christ, taking a back seat to allow those who are helpless to find their way and encourages spiritual growth and emotional healing in those who cross its path. This transformed soul is obedient to the perfect Law of Love. In a world filled with hate and divisiveness, anger, fear, and unforgiveness, this kind of love shines incredibly bright in the darkness of the age we currently live in just as it did when Jesus stepped into this terrene.

The more I live the more aware I’ve become of the stark contrast between what Jesus exemplified in His humanity and what is proliferated in Christian circles. A sad lack of humility appears to identify the brothers and sisters of Christ, more than laying our lives down for the ones we say we love. Vulnerability appears to be a dirty word as we fear “becoming a doormat”. But when I peer into that hay-stacked feeding trough, I see the very God of the universe announcing His arrival in an offensive way. We look away, turning our gaze to the seasonal chaos, forgetting that this One who arrived in the lowliest of ways is calling those who are His to a journey of continual transformation. His desire for us is a renewal of our thought processes that reflect the very mind of Christ in all of its humble state, unguarded and vulnerable.

Romans 12 tells us something that we’ve become quite familiar with if we’ve been around the Christian circles for any amount of time. But it’s worth repeating here and pondered upon. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” Later in the passage Paul goes on to tell us not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to.

Jesus gave us the pattern for this…one that lay shivering in the cold, leaving His glorious dwelling behind, giving up every right that He possessed, mutating into a lowly human.

This Christmas season, may our Jesus transformation be evident, not only in our words, but more importantly, in our actions.