Romans 12:2

So I now have a new favorite scripture. I was a bit behind in my seminary reading, and today was reading day in English, so I decided to bring my scriptures to school and catch up. As I was finishing up Romans, I read the this verse, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good , and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." When I first read it, the only part I really understood well was the very first "be not conformed to this world" so I used my footnotes. So after replacing some of the words with alternate translations and stuff, it would kind of say, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye [self-mastered] by [your spiritually reborn] mind, that ye may [test and try] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Maybe that doesn't change anything for you, and it sounds exactly the same from the first to the second time, but to me, it just made things that much more clear and more applicable to myself. It was just one of those things that really impacts you, ya know? And I've been thinking about it ever since I read it this morning.
No matter how hard it can be, I know that we have to stand aside from the world; we must take the gospel principles we're taught and live by them in our daily lives. When the Lord enlightens (renews) our minds with understanding, he expects us to change our actions (transformed) to be in accordance with that knowledge, and if we fail to do so, he will not continue to enlighten our minds. The last half of the verse, about proving God's will, reminds me of an EFY song from my first year, "Live Like You Believe." The basic message of this song is that if you want a reassurance that the gospel is true, live by it's principles, and you're faith will grow; you will have the strength needed to continue on. To me this sounds like proving the will of God. I know God loves us, and wants the best for us, which is why he has given us commandments to separate us from the world. The actions of those in our world are those of Satan's counterfiets. They want what the Lord has promised, but they have been blinded into following Satan's ways and ideas which appear on the outside to follow so closely with what the Lord says. If only they could recognize that Satan's ways, however appealing and seemingly good, can only lead us to misery and destruction, instead of the joy and eternal life given through obedience to God's word. I hope that I can take these principles more fully into my life and live "in the world, but not of the world" by conforming with God's standards instead of the world's.