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Two biologists, a man and a woman, were strolling one day through a swamp.
Most of the creatures they encountered quickly scampered away, looking for hiding places.
But an unusually large frog suddenly poked its head above the water and just stared at them.
Then it began to speak.
“I know you’re going to find this hard to believe,” said the frog, “but I’m actually a Presbyterian minister. Someone has placed a terrible curse on me.” The frog went on, “But you can save me! All you have to do is give me a kiss, and I’ll be transformed into my true self.”
The female biologist reached down and gently picked up the frog. She peered into its enormous, hopeful eyes. Then she slipped the frog into her handbag.
“Aren’t you going to kiss it?” asked her companion.
“Goodness, no!” she replied. “It’s worth a whole lot more as a talking frog than as a Presbyterian minister.”
The tale of the Frog Prince has traditionally been the first entry in the Grimm Brothers’ book of fairy tales. It’s an old story, and reflects the deeply implanted idea that if someone loves us, really loves us, then an expression of that love has the capacity to change our lives. Perhaps it can even deliver us from whatever curse thrust us into the swamp in the first place.
But who wants to kiss a frog?
God does.
Romans 12:2 is simultaneously one of the most challenging and reassuring verses in the Bible: “Don’t be conformed to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.”
There are two different forms in this verse. The Greek word that underlies “conform” is schema. It represents the surface of things. Think of a schematic drawing, which depicts the exterior appearance of a building.
The apostle Paul is saying, “Don’t believe the world’s propaganda that appearances are what ultimately matter. Don’t conform your clothes, your words, and your opinions to an ever-changing, arbitrary standard.”
In other words, don’t make the crowd happy. Make God happy.
And how might that happen?
That’s wrapped up in the other “form” in Romans 12:2. Be transformed. Here the underlying Greek word is morphe. It describes the inner shape of something, its spiritual DNA, its true essence or identity – that mysterious something that makes you “you,” whether you are age four, 44, or 84.
Paul dares to say that the Real You can be transformed, redeemed, changed forever. Morphe appears here at the heart of a familiar-sounding verb: metamorphizo. Quite simply, we can experience a metamorphosis.
Today we might be frogs. But hiding behind our “froginess” is our potential identity as God’s treasured children.
God is able and willing to offer the kiss of unconditional love. It is a gift we can receive. All we need to do is ask for it.
This gift has the power to transform us. It eradicates the curse of our spiritual lostness. And it assures us that God will never change his mind about loving us.
Here’s the best news of all:
You don’t have to live in a swamp or sit through an entire Presbyterian sermon to live happily ever after.