I remember when the kids were smaller there was a very popular franchise of toys, cartoons, comics, and a movie, all about the Transformers. You may remember the hype as well. The toys were fascinating; they looked like a car or truck and then–presto!–they would open up and become a person or robot in armor. They changed, or transformed, from one thing into something else.
We often talk about transformation in the Christian life. It is a little like those Transformer toys, because as we live in the power of the Spirit we are able to transform evil into good. We are able to hold the pain of the world, hurt, and mistreatment, and–as we sit with it in God’s presence–it is changed. Then we, instead of remaining conduits for pain and hurt, become agents of grace. We are able to love our enemies, to bless those who curse us, and to return good for evil. The greatest example of this kind of transformation was Jesus when He was on the cross. He took all the devil could hurl at Him–all the hate, torture, pain and mistreatment–and He prayed for those who hurt Him, asking God to forgive them. And that cross, an instrument of torture, has also been transformed. It has become the symbol of grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Maybe that is a little of what Jesus meant when He told us to take up our crosses and follow Him. The cross taught us how to transform the hate and pain of our world into grace, mercy, and love.
I am praying for you this week, that as you sit in God’s presence you, too, will be transformed and become a transformer. Giving soft answers where there is wrath, kindness where there is impatience, love and forgiveness where you have been hurt.
Photo credit: (C) www.transformersmovie.com, A Michael Bay film
