On Conformity

We’re all conforming to something. Unlike God.

We are becoming. He simply is.

God is not becoming a better God, a different God, a more or less (enter adjective here) God.

God simply is.

Another fine example of that good old Creator / creature distinction.

We are in flux while God’s character and very existence are the immovable anchor around which all things orbit or revolve. All things are anchored to it.

Since we’re changing, or conforming, the question naturally becomes, “What are we conforming to?”

As Christians, that answer should be obvious. The life of any Christian should be lived in increasing conformity to Christ, admitting to all the various ups and downs we may face in life, even as His followers.

Apart from Christ, there are any number of things we can find ourselves conforming to. However, none of them will satisfy or ultimately give way to the eternal felicity found in a true pursuit of conformity to Christ.

But even as followers of Christ, there are various aspects of our world we can find ourselves conformed to.

We are, each one of us, conformed to any number of standards of the age into which we are born. Some are more conformed to the age, others are less conformed to it. Many, if not most of us, wind up being consenting members of our functioning societies, while some, on the other end of the extreme, live as outcasts. In both cases, and all those in between or elsewhere, humanity is in some process, or multiple processes, of conformity.

For many, or at many times in our lives, this process goes by unnoticed.

For some, or at other times, there may be some awareness, but little interest or desire to dig any deeper than simply acknowledging the reality we are being conformed.

For others, or at even other times, there maybe be a sincere interest and desire to know and be properly engaged in our conformity.

Romans 12:2 encourages us not to be conformed to the pattern of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

A few chapters earlier, Paul wrote in Romans 8:29 that God predestined those he foreknew to be conformed into the image of His Son (Jesus), so that He (Jesus) might be the firstborn among many brothers.

The ideas of being foreknown, and of Christ being the firstborn of many brothers certainly warrants further discussion. But we’ll have to reserve those for another time.

Here and now, I’d just like to encourage some awareness and thoughtfulness about what it is we’re being conformed to. While we are in this world, we are not of it, if we are part of Christ’s body.

Our relationship with the world, then, should never come before our relationship with God. We are not free to entirely detach, and live like hermits, though on occasion that may be God’s design for a season here or there. We are called to be His representatives, or ambassadors, and as such, are essentially required to remain engaged with the worldly affairs God has strategically involved us in.

As with many things, our conformity should always be in reference first and foremost to the desires of our Creator, rather than the varying aspects of that conformity, which appropriately understood can certainly be defined as good.

But like a gift given by the ultimate Giver, our reliance should always be on the Giver, not on the gift.

And so our conformity should always be to Christ, the God man, though some aspects of that conformity in our particular situation may tempt us to be primarily focused on their worldly values. A Christian can certainly be conforming into an increasingly competent employee, athlete, or student. But a Christian’s ultimate conformity will be to Christ, albeit through the unique means God has determined for each of us to get there.