LICC - Transformation

transformation – the Greeks had a word for it!
Actually the Greek equivalent of ‘transformation’ is ‘metamorphosis’. For those with some school biology lurking, tadpoles turning into frogs, and pupae into butterflies spring to mind. A rather less radical form of transformation has joined crime, hospitals and soaps as the bread and butter of television – houses and gardens, as well as people, have makeovers – providing a different style, a different image with new possibilities. And next month we can change again! It can be simply fun, but sometimes looking ‘right’ on the outside can matter too much. We do need to ‘make the best of ourselves’, but the real transformation most of us long for is an inside one. Most of us are reasonably adept at seeing where others need a character makeover! But what are we like deep down, ourselves?
Paul wrote to the Corinthians, saying ‘And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another: for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit’. (2 Corinthians 3:18)
Here is real metamorphosis – humans changed into the image of God, looking at his glory and by degrees becoming like him. Apart from one similar use of the word in Romans 12, the only other use in the New Testament is the ‘transfiguration/transformation’ of Jesus, when Peter, James and John fell to the ground terrified at the vision of Jesus as he really is, shining like the sun.
But, ‘being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another’ involves us - we have a big part to play in this transformation. This is a lifelong struggle, compared to the hard training of soldiers and athletes. Becoming a Christian is the beginning of a metamorphosis far more radical than popping out of a chrysalis. In the end we will be more magnificent than any butterfly, but it does take a lifetime. So, if we see the challenges of today as our transformation training ground, they may look less intimidating and more exciting.
Margaret Killingray