Recently I was asked to speak to the Jr./Sr. High students at a Christian school. I challenged them with the question above. I want you to consider the same question for yourself today. It does not matter what time of life we are living in, there is always someone, or something that is clamoring for the control of our hearts and lives. Someone, or something is trying to pour you into it’s mold. There is a very real battle going on right now for that one and only seat on the throne of your heart.
The apostle Paul warned us that the world would try to “conform” us to its idea of what is acceptable. His challenge was simple: “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2). The world has a philosophy they are trying to get us to follow. There is a danger in allowing this to creep into you thinking or behavior. I have noticed that this kind of influence never comes knocking at your front door, but usually sneaks around to a side or back door. We find ourselves compromising in “little” ways, and before we know it, we are far down a road we thought we would never venture down.
The opposite of allowing the world to pour us into its mold is found in another chapter of that same book of Romans. The apostle Paul wrote there: “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29). God’s predetermined plan for every believer is to be poured into the mold of His son. Just as the world wants to influence us to look like them; to act like them; to think like them; and to talk like them … God wants us to look like Jesus; act like Jesus; think like Jesus; and talk like Jesus wherever we go today.
This is the goal God has for you today as His child. This is the goal God has for every one of us today as His children. Why? I believe the answer is clear … if we will live our lives reflecting His image (the image that God originally had for us), we will make a difference in this world. God’s plan for reaching the world we live in today is simply that we will live fully sold out to Jesus Christ. His plan is that we will live in our world, showing the world Jesus Christ in our everyday actions. Take a moment today to consider what the world has known of God through your testimony. Has the world seen an accurate view of God through your life? If not, today is a good place to start with that goal. Don’t allow the world to shape your life and decisions. Yield to Jesus Christ and let His light shine through you!