Galatians 4:19: The Weight of Spiritual Formation

"Spiritual formation is, in practice, the way of rest for the weary and overloaded, of the easy yoke and light burden, of cleaning the inside of the cup and the dish, of the good tree that cannot bear bad fruit. And it is the path along which God's commandments are found to be not 'heavy,' not 'burdensome'" - Dallas Willard[1]

What does it look like to be transformed? Not merely changed, but improved. We are all in the process of being formed spiritually, but what shape are we taking? This process happens internally and, to my eye, it is not linear-no straight line from spiritual point A to spiritual point B. It feels erratic. I suppose it should feel that way: the result of the divine interaction between our cantankerous spirit and the spirit of God.

The pace is slow, but it is inexorable. I often wonder if God himself would echo the words of Paul, when he wrote: "My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you." (Gal. 4:19)

But I would not trade it for anything. Why? Because the type of person I long to be--indeed, the type of person I am becoming--lies along this path. Where I do good because I am good. Where my "want-to" wants the right things. Where what God wants is the natural overflow of who He has made me.

I have tried the alternative and I am sick of myself trying it. I long for health. "External manifestation of 'Christlikeness' is not, however, the focus of the process; and when it is made the main emphasis, the process will certainly be defeated..."[2]

Today, I am asking what I have asked for many times before: for the spirit of God to have his natural and normal result in me, calling on the promise of Jesus: "the water I will give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:14b)

[1] Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart, p. 24
[2] Ibid, p. 23

Colossians 3:9-10: Beyond the Grace of Soap

Recently when my family and I were riding a bus in Ireland to our destination, a man boarded and sat immediately in front of me, disheveled and smelling of sweat. I remember thinking, Here is someone in desperate need of the grace of soap. My mind wandered: soap is readily available, surely he noticed, who goes out in public without an armpit double-check. Then it hit me: we all stink. Stores spend aisle after aisle stocking products designed to conceal this pungent, fundamental fact. Deodorant, anti-perspirant, cologne, perfume, air freshener, etc. In fact, if we weren't all so focused on spraying or wiping or spreading or applying these products every waking 24-hour protection moment, we would probably be used to the fact that we all stink and would be unaware. But once the first person tried to hide it, no one wanted to smell our body odor.

In many ways, we try to apply this strategy of the grace of soap to our spiritual lives, trying to hide the fundamental fact that we all sin--that we all stink. Dallas Willard, in his book The Divine Conspiracy, calls it the gospel of sin management. We ignore it, we hide it, we mitigate its effects, we try to only enter situations where it won't show, we excuse it, we emulate the lifestyle of the stink free. All of the while, denying the fact that we are all stinkers. When we see sin break through, in all of its destructive power, in someone's life, we all think: they should have applied more soap--more forgiveness--more careful rule following.

But the strategy of Christ is fundamentally different. It is the grace of regeneration. As Paul says: "...since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator." (Colossians 3:9-10)

The problem with the gospel of sin management it that it accepts that sin (stench) is fundamental and that the means of better life is keeping sin under control. But Jesus offers a different strategy: regeneration.

Imagine for a moment if we could be genetically re-engineered so that the pores in our skin no longer secreted stench-generating liquids. Not all at once, but gradually. Fundamentally changing who we are and how our body works.

This is exactly what the gospel does. It brings to bear God's life-giving, regenerating Spirit in our lives so that, bit by bit, sin is not the natural product of our lives. Paul said it this way: "For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." (2 Corinthians 2:15)

Yes, we still need to wash. But we can cooperate with the Spirit's transformative work, not settling for sin-as-the-new-normal in our lives. The man in the next seat on the bus is a stinker. And so am I. Only God's grace (for which I get to take no credit) makes me or him improve.

SDG