Of being conformed

Spiritual formation is a process of being conformed to the image of Christ, a journey into becoming persons of compassion, persons who forgive, persons who care deeply for others and the world, persons who offer themselves to God to become agents of divine grace in the lives of others and their world—persons who love and serve as Jesus did.

Note that it is a process of being conformed not a process of conforming ourselves to the image of Christ. There is a big difference. The difference between conforming ourselves and being conformed is the issue of control. Almost from birth we engage in a struggle for control of that portion of the world in which we live. Our constant struggle with the issue of control is a crucial part of our spiritual pilgrimage. I don’t mind spiritual formation at all as long as I can be in control of it. As long as I can set the limits on its pace and direction, I have no problem. What I do have a problem with is getting my control structures out of the way of my spiritual formation and letting God take control. In the final analysis, there is nothing we can do to transform ourselves into persons who love and serve as Jesus did except make ourselves available for God to do that work of transforming grace in our lives.

We live in a culture that has reversed the biblical order of begin and doing. Being and doing are integrally related but we have to have the order straight. Our doing flows out of our being. In spiritual formation, the problem with being conformed is that we have a strong tendency to think that if only we do the right things we will be the right kind of Christians, as though our doing would bring about our being. We must always realize that it is God, not we ourselves, who is the source of the transformation of our being into wholeness in the image of Christ. Our part is to offer ourselves to God in ways that enable God to do that transforming work of grace. Our relationship with God, not our doing, is the source of our being.
Spiritual formation is the great reversal: from acting to bring about the desired results in our lives to being acted upon by God and responding in ways that allow God to bring about God’s purposes.