Transformation is our core calling, our path to freedom, and our key to taking on His divine nature. When we respond to that call, we are honoring the Giver and advancing His Kingdom in our hearts.

To understand why so many followers of Christ struggle to be free of out-of-control behaviors, you much first accept that there is a big difference between behavior modification and transformation. It is the difference between adopting a routine, religious or otherwise, that changes behavior and actually being free of a temptation that drives your behavior.

Which do you think God would want for you? Do you think He would prefer you to be free of the temptation, or would He be satisfied if you were simply able to control the destructive behavior? Is it really like Him to want us to redirect drug usage to a more socially acceptable obsession like eating candy or ice cream? Or would He rather see us resolve the broken place within us that drives the temptation so that we are permanently free of the desire to do things that have negative consequences in our lives?

God is in the heart business. He wants His people to share the inward likeness of his Son. He wants us to achieve a heart that bears resemblance to the heart of the Son, who is like the Father in every way. He is not interested in self-imposed routines, Christian-based or otherwise, that make us appear Christ-like. He wants us to be Christ-like.

If you humbly allow yourself to be led by the Holy Spirit, your life can be transformed. It is a dynamic process that will advance you toward all that your spirit yearns for in life. Moreover, transformation is not only what we are called to do, it is what we are required to do if we want to realize the promises of the Christian life as described in the Bible.