Transformation of All Things

The apostle Peter said, “The consummation of all things is at hand”, which some translate as, "the end of all things has come".  The disciples asked Jesus about this, and many today ask the same question? When will be the end of the age and the sign of the coming of Jesus in His Kingdom?

Jesus told Nicodemus if he truly returned to God, to connect with Him on the most basic human level as the source of life that he could see the Kingdom of God. We will look at that more below, but the hard fact is that when we see all that Jesus said would happen begin to transpire as it is today, Jesus has told us that the first priority is to resist deception. This is the first step to transformation.

The temptation is to allow deceit to dictate our perception of reality. If that’s the case, we have no reason to change. On the other hand, we can listen to Jesus and keep listening to Him until the day dawns and the morning star arises in our hearts. This shift from lies to truth is crucial during these times of rapidly unfolding world events.

Some in the past such as Lot and Noah understood what was coming upon the world, while others living at the same time assumed life would continue as usual, so they gave no place to what God was saying. People following their own desires so much want to be right that they ignore the truth because it contradicts what they want. This eliminates in their minds the need for change. Peter, by the time he wrote his First and Second book, had become convinced the end was near. In his writing, he emphasizes living in anticipation of the new heavens and the new earth to come, despite the truth escaping the notice of others. 

The question, however, is not whether or not others will follow their own thinking, but rather, will we follow our own desire or God's voice? 

We All Need to Be Changed

Has anyone of us made all the right choices in life? Even one mistake can produce a series of unintended consequences, and with the compounding of one mistake upon another, where does that leave us? Comparing our lives as to the work of a master potter, is life as we know it taking the shape of a perfect vessel, or do we wish it could be re-fashioned?

Jewish leaders teach that every day God remakes the world and everything in it. Why can't He recreate us? He continually transforms nature, which appears dead in winter yet yields new life in spring. He seemingly brings life from nothing. How can we be transformed and conformed to His image?

Plain and Simple, God’s Word Transforms  

Jesus always wants what His Father wants, and the heavenly Father tells us to listen to Jesus because He is always pleasing to God. At the glorious transfiguration of Jesus, the heavenly Father in the hearing of two witnesses from heaven, Elijah and Moses, and three witnesses on earth, Peter, James, and John, revealed what is essential for our transformation. We must listen to Jesus. 

Could transformation be that simple?

Getting Israel through the sea of weeds didn’t take monumental effort by the people of God. They didn’t have to untangle their own dilemma. Yahweh is the one who transformed the sea so it became solid wall on both sides of Israel and dried the ground so the people could walk on through. They only had to listen to Moses and walk. 

Jesus reminded Nicodemus that when Israel were stuck and ensnared, God used their apparent detour to lead them to life. Yeshua explained that He had to be lifted up in order to draw all people to Himself, just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness.

How did Moses lift up the snake? It was a matter of simple obedience. He did what Jesus said to do. He told those bitten by a poisonous snake where to look, and God healed all who listened. It didn’t matter if they understood or not. Obedience for them was not academic. It was a matter of life or death. So it is with us.

Simple Obedience Draws Attention to Jesus

How do we know if we are transformed? Paul indicates that the test is whether or not we are able to approve God’s will (Romans 12:1-2). The extent that we are able to approve God’s will shows the extent of our return to God. We are transformed, meaning being prepared to see Jesus, to the extent we are doing what He desires and not what we want. This is the baseline for transformation in the Kingdom of God: discovering the glorious grace and will of God in Christ Jesus. 

Here’s an example.

Jesus said, “The greatest among you must be your servant…” If I understand the words of Jesus to mean I can be great in God’s Kingdom if I learn to be servant of all, I have missed the boat. This perception takes what Jesus says and packages it as nothing more than a western philosophy of success fit for the consumption and deception of the masses.

But is that really the message Jesus intends to convey? Not at all. What Jesus said completely eliminates greatness from the equation because the Kingdom of God is not self centered. The Kingdom of God is not about me and it never will be. It's not about greatness except for the greatness of our God, the Creator of the universe. It’s all about being a true servant of Jesus by doing what He says.

Shifting Sand is Underfoot  

Transformation becomes possible when we are willing to truthfully acknowledge all our weaknesses, reject life lived according to our faulty terms, and ask Jesus to lead us to bear the fruit He desires for all eternity. Lifting our eyes to humbly look with faith past our faults connects us with God in a way that nothing else can.

It’s the place where God’s great love for us opens the exit door from all our entanglements. God is prepared to restore to us all we have missed, given up, and lost. In the process of forming the new heavens and the new earth, He is leading us as His perfectly formed vessels, completely whole, lacking in nothing. This is the shalom of Christ's Kingdom.

God transforms us through our obedience to Christ. That is how we are conformed to His will, and He uses us to impact and change the lives of others by simply being obedient to Him. We show that we love Jesus not only by hearing His voice but also by doing what He says in the world. Living in line with the will of God guarantees our bearing fruit for His Kingdom and our appearing with Jesus in glory when He comes in the clouds with His holy angels.