Dear saints, let us pray that the trainees would be transformed in their character to be useful to the Lord in His service (Rom. 12:2; 2 Tim. 2:15, 21; 4:11; Philem. 1:11).
We must receive some amount of transformation in what we are in our character. Humanly speaking, our character may have been very much improved, but that is something false. What we need is transformation. How much have we been transformed in our character? The transformation of our character implies a lot. Whether we are too slow or too quick, humble or proud, patient or impatient is not a matter of conduct but of what we are. What we are today becomes our character. We who love the Lord must be trained in the growth in life, the growth in truth, the growth in capacity, and in the transformation of our character.
We need to be transformed, for we cannot serve the Lord as Chinese, Japanese, Americans, or Europeans. No human beings can serve the Lord except those who have been transformed. Just to be regenerated is not adequate. We need regeneration plus transformation in order to serve. We must be transformed…We may have a great deal of knowledge and a certain amount of growth in life, yet without transformation we will surely cause trouble…Only those who are transformed in what they are do not cause problems. (Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1990, vol. 1, “Instruction and Exhortation to the Trainees,” ch. 2)
More details via Beseeching.org, day 417.