A NEW ENVIRONMENT
Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Romans 12:1-8
When Jo started working in a London-based marketing company after university, she felt dismayed and alienated by the cliques in the office. Later, when two women joined the team, Jo said, “l was determined they would have a better experience.” So she invited her new colleagues to lunch to get to know them, enjoying their company and eventually fostering a positive working culture. She later reflected, “I knew God had sent me into that office to love and welcome those women… it felt like the way lesus would have been in the workplace.”
Jo followed the instruction of Paul, who urged the Romans to submit to Christ and reject the ways of the world: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). As the believers worshipped God with their bodies and their minds (v. 1), He would help them to know “His good, pleasing and perfect will” (v. 2). Even as Jo, when she sought God’s renewal in her mind, sensed that loving these new teammates would change the office environment, making it a friendly place where everyone could thrive.
Wherever we are, whether in paid employment or not, we can trust that God will work in and through us. As members of His body (v. 5), we know that He will renew us emotionally, spiritually and physically.
Renewing God, through Your Holy Spirit who lives within me, change my heart and mind that I might bring You glory.
