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| The process of transformation of Penn Manor HS |
For many months I have been watching the process of transforming the school where I worked for 39 years into a one hundred million very modern high school. I have watched them tear down much of the old building, including my first classroom and office, begin to add new structures and remodel some of the old structure. It is interesting to watch this transformation as well as other old buildings transformed into modern ones.
But even more amazing are the transformations which the Lord makes in the lives of men and women who are lost in sin. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." Now that is a real transformation - sins forgiven, a new purpose, a new motivation, a new future. I pray that you have experienced that transformation.
But I also think that true believers need to be transformed as at times we may tend to wander and begin to live like the world. Romans 12:2 reminds us, "Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. " The follower of Christ continues to receive God's transformation in his life. In other words, beyond the initial step of faith, renewal includes ongoing encounters with the living God. We need His transforming grace throughout our lives.
In 1920 F. G. Burroughs (1856-1949) shared this thought in her hymn "Transformed". Years ago this was frequently sung in churches and I forgot all about it until a friend that I haven't seen in decades wrote to me and asked me if I remembered it. He said it was sung at his father's funeral. I did remember it and began a very difficult search to find anything about its background. I found very little information except for some basics about the author...
The author was the daughter of a Methodist Episcopal minister. She married Thomas E. Burroughs in 1884 but he died in 1904. She then married Arthur Prince Adams in 1905. He was a minister. Her poem, "Unanswered yet" which was written in 1879, was published in the The Christian Standard in 1880 with the name F. G. Browning. She also wrote under the names of Aphelia G. Adams and Mrs. T. E. Burroughs.
But I could not locate any information about the circumstances behind the writing of this hymn. I imagine the words probably came from her personal experiences. I think the words speak to that. The author is asking the Lord to take her tangled strands which have been in vain, the discordant keys of her life, the broken vows and the failures and mistakes and transform them all by His grace. Do we need to ask for the same to be done in our lives? May Christ get all the glory for the changes and may we resign our way to His most holy will. Be transformed by grace divine. May that be our prayer.
1. Dear Lord, take up our tangled strands,
Where we have wrought in vain,
That by the skill of Thy dear hands
Some beauty may remain.
Refrain:
Transformed by grace divine,
The glory shall be Thine;
To Thy most holy will, O Lord,
We now our all resign.
2. Touch Thou the sad, discordant keys
Of every troubled breast,
And change to peaceful harmonies
The sighings of unrest.
Refrain:
Transformed by grace divine,
The glory shall be Thine;
To Thy most holy will, O Lord,
We now our all resign
3. Where broken vows in fragments lie—
The toil of wasted years—
Do Thou make whole again, we cry,
And give a song for tears.
Refrain:
Transformed by grace divine,
The glory shall be Thine;
To Thy most holy will, O Lord,
We now our all resign
4. Take all the failures, each mistake
Of our poor human ways,
Then, Savior, for Thine own dear sake,
Make them show forth Thy praise.
Refrain:
Transformed by grace divine,
The glory shall be Thine;
To Thy most holy will, O Lord,
We now our all resign
I also had a very difficult time finding a video of this song. But I finally found one to share with you. You can listen to it here. TRANSFORMED
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