Transformed by Grace

Everyone knows or at least agrees that transformation is an act of grace.  It is not achieved through great human effort, self discipline or reading the right kind of books.  The caterpillar is not changed into a butterfly by an effort to change.  The change flows out of a process and is the end product of a process that combines what the caterpillar does and what nature causes.  The caterpillar would stand no chance of change without being a good caterpillar and eating the right leafs at the right time.  After following this routine it shifts to a the waiting mode while the process is completed.

Christians are no different.  God expects us to live obedient lives that seek to follow after God with all our heart. All this with the full recognition that all the following in the world and all the obedience in the world will not transform us.  What it does is put us in the position of actively waiting on God.  Our devotions, our prayers, our meditations are all tools God uses in our lives to redesign us.  While we do them, God uses them.  He uses them to help point out our failures and short comings.  He uses them to rebuild our thought patterns and ideas of what we should and should not do.  But with all this comes the sure knowledge of not meeting the standard that God requires.  At the same time we become overwhelmed with the sure knowledge that his grace is sufficient to meet and deal with our short comings and failure.  This goes on while he quietly proceeds to transform us by his Spirit through the day to day activities of life.  It is God that allows and then uses both the mundane, the tragic and the glorious to move us from sinners to saints, from hopeless, to victorious.  And in the process we give him all the glory for he alone is worthy and he alone can make butterflies out of caterpillars.

The Problem of Transformation

The journey of discipleship is not about becoming like Jesus after all.  Becoming “like” someone is a matter of conforming.  Ted Stone was my first pastor.  As a young Christian I looked at Pastor Ted as the epitome of what a Christian should be like.  I remember thinking that I wanted to be a pastor like Ted.  Not simply “like” him but “like” him.  I wanted to talk like him, walk like him, laugh like him.  In essence I wanted my life to form like his.  And, of course, this is the problem.  Conforming is all about thinking and behaving like someone else.  Or it is behaving and thinking in “a socially acceptable way” (Encarta Dictionary).  I think many Christians have conforming mixed up and being transformed. 

Transformed vs Conformed

We have the ability to conform ourselves.  When we admire someone and want to be like them we conform to what we believe they are like.  We can adopt similar values to others, we can watch what the watch, act like they act and slowly take on their very persona.  In its simplest for conforming is neutral: neither good nor bad.  It all depends on what you are being conformed to.  Aristotle tells us that an unexamined life is not worth living.  He goes on to tell us how to conform our character to good, is to be good and practice goodness.  More simply he believed moral virtues are cultivated by habit.  And he was right.  We really do become our habits.  But this is not transformation; this is conforming.  There are plenty of groups working hard to help people become “good or better” people.  This is done by focusing on what it means to be good and what behavior needs to be practiced to learn goodness.  But goodness does not get us to heaven nor does it transform us.

Transformation on the other had is similar, but very different.  The goal is not to become like someone in our thoughts and actions.  Maybe this is where we get confused.  We are not to copy Jesus, but Jesus is our example of what we will become if we are transformed.  2 Corinthians 3:18 (NLT) ¹⁸ So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. Jesus is the first born of a new type of humanity. Romans 8:29 (NLT) “²⁹ For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” A caterpillar can become like another caterpillar.  But it cannot become like a butterfly.  It can try and act like a butterfly but it can never become a butterfly.  To be like Jesus from the Biblical perspective is to be of the same nature or essence.  It is not simply acting like Jesus.  The goal in transformation is to become something completely different from what you were. The caterpillar becomes a butterfly through the process of metamorphosis, very, very different from what it was.

Transformation is not mirroring the actions of Jesus, it is becoming like him so that our actions are “naturally” like his actions.  Transformation is not something we do to ourselves, it is something God does to us.  Ours is to choose, his is to operate.  Transformation requires a heart operation that is both radical and delicate.  God does not perform it all at once.  He does it little by little as we have the strength to go through it.  At each step of the way he asks the question, “are you ready for the next stage?”  If we say no, he does not proceed.  But when we willingly climb back up on the operating table he makes the right incision in the right place.  His goal is not to make us a copy-cat image of Jesus, he wants to make us into a new creature.  Jesus was the first born.  Through the God directed process of transformation we come part of the new creation.

Will you say yes to God?  Are you ready to submit once again to become a “living sacrifice?”  

What Do You Reflect?

One of the basic principles from which I have lived and worked is that of Grace.  We know from Eph. 2:8,9 salvation is the product of grace.  Likewise we know transformation is a work of grace.  We cannot change ourselves.  At the same time we know far too many brothers and sisters who make little effort to change and don't change.  On the other side we all know (and many of us have been caught in this trap) trying to change is frustrating and does not reap the reward of a transformed life.  This has left me with a dilemma.  Just what is the part we play in the process of transformation?  Today I stumbled on what I think is the best explanation I have read to date.

Henry Drummon was a 19th Century English preacher.  Perhaps he is best known for the short explanation of love in "The Greatest Thing in the World."  But I found his discussion of sanctification to be at least a partial answer to my lack of understanding.  Take some time and read it and let me know what you think:

The Changed Life

You can see the complete work at The Greatest Thing

After reading the article answer this question:

How many ways can we place ourselves in front of the mirror of transformation? (you will understand after readying the short article).

Phil

Can Tea Transform Us?

Debbie and I discovered Netflix (OK, we are not early adopters). It is amazing to have at the touch of a button an ability to stream a movie from the “cloud” to your living Room. More importantly you have a real choice. We have been great fans of James Herriot of All Creatures Great and Small fame. Years ago we saw some of the video series on TV. We are now streaming them right to our living room. We also were great fans of some of the classics of Master Piece Theater. One of my favorites was To Serve Them ALL My Days by R.F. Delderfield. We also had an opportunity to live in England years ago for nearly a year. While there we developed a family habit of Tea time. For years we would gather in the afternoon for brewed tea in our little China tea pot from England. I think the shows I am watching are beginning to change my taste. Suddenly, after watching these wonderful British stories I find myself longing for a “cup of tea”. In fact my whole body seems more inclined towards “all things British.” OK, maybe tea has not changed me, but watching and remembering has given me a desire for tea. And who knows, maybe tea will make me more of a gentleman with that English reserve and manners….or not.

If you are really into the symbiotic effect of mind/body (I see tea, I have enjoyed tea, now I drink coffee, but maybe should drink more tea) then you will love to read the following article: Click Here. The article addresses the close connection between what we think and what we do by using the Six Stages of Change (Click Here for Summary of Six Stages). Of course transformation is all about change. What these articles do is give us a surface understanding of change. It was only in the past decade that scientists have been able to go deeper into the unconscious level (heart) through MRi and fMri. Mapping the unconscious and studying the effect it has on behavior is a growing field of research and study. The heart (unconscious) is difficult to examine from our conscious mind. It is revealed through our behaviors and imagination. You cannot ask your heart what it believes, there is no cognitive way to discuss it and let you know. It does communicate through emotions and feelings, often expressing itself with the little nudges here and there that can be good or bad based on what it in the heart. Your heart will find its way to the surface by what you do and think.

The amazing discovery is that you cannot simply change what you think and expect that your heart and habits have changed. It does not work that way. The heart (unconscious) is trained, not taught. It is far more similar to athletes training their muscles, than scholars teaching materials. Athelets do not become athelets by studying alone, they must practice and practice. You must have the right materials to input, but they will not change behavior unless they become part of your heart. That is done on two levels: by God’s Holy Spirit and by personal choice. The two cannot be separated. We must choose to be changed and must choose to put God’s word at the service of the Holy Spirit in our lives, practice. There is a work of Grace that follows a commitment to hear and do. God tells Ezekiel (3:1) “Son of man, eat what I am giving you—eat this scroll! Then go and give its message to the people of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and he fed me the scroll.” Like Ezekiel we cannot be effective until we take into our very being God’s word. It is the foundation for everything else. But it is not enough. This may sound odd to say, but simply studying the Bible will not change you. It is the beginning, not the end all. In verse 10 of Chapter 3 God gives Eziekiel the second part that is just a critical as taking it in, “10 Then he added, “Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself. “

Studying the Word of God, feasting on its message is critical. But it is only as the Holy Spirit empowers it to take root in our heart at our invitation will it result in change in behavior.

There is a mighty link between mind, body and heart. We become what we do. And we do what we believe….in our heart. Our heart is the great nudger in our lives. Sometimes it does not nudge but outright shoves. But it is what we have placed in our heart by the power of the Holy Spirit that transforms us in word and deed to become more like Jesus.

I am feeling thirsty (body action) but I am inclined towards tea (James Herriot always had tea). My heart tells me I would feel “better” with tea. Think I will go get a cupa tea. Phil

The Old Topic of Transformation

It is no surprise that transformation is an old topic.  It is central to the Bible.  But sometimes we may forget that writers have been discussing this very topic for centuries.  Martin Luther found a book that discusses transformation with great insight and depth.  He said" Next to the Bible and St. Augustine, no has ever come into my hands from which I have learned more of God and Christ, and man and all things that are."  The book he refers to one written around 1350 by a member of a group called "Friends of God."  We do not know exactly who the author was, but he obviously was a friend of God.  Thankfully the book is now part of the public domain and you can either google Theological Germanica or follow the this link to the pdf version Click Here

There has been and always will be (till we join the Lord) a debate between the outward and inward man.  Some want to beat themselves into submission while others wait on the Lord to bring change in their lives.  The reality is there is a middle ground.  And it is not something new!

The following is take from the course, "Spiritual Formation" developed by DAI associates:


"Four Types of People  But mark this: There are four sorts of people who deal in different ways with order, laws, and customs.

  The Compelled  
1. Some keep them neither for God’s sake, nor to serve their own ends, but from constraint: these have as little to do with them as may be, and find them a burden and heavy yoke.  

The Meritorious or Reward Folk (self-disciplined)
 2. The second sort obey for the sake of reward. These are people who know nothing beside, or better than, laws and precepts, and imagine that by keeping them they may obtain the kingdom of Heaven and Eternal Life, and not otherwise. Those who practice many ordinances they think to be holy. Those who omit any smallest element of them they think to be lost. Such people are very much in earnest and give great diligence to the work, and yet they find it a weariness.  

The Perfect or Free Spirits (self-deluded)
 3. The third sort are wicked and false-hearted, who dream and declare that they are perfect and need no ordinances, and make a mockery of them.  

The Illumined (the responsive)

 4. The fourth are those who are enlightened with the True Light, who do not practice these things for reward. They neither look nor desire to get anything thereby, but all that they do is from love alone. And these are not so anxious and eager to accomplish much and with all speed as the second sort, but rather seek to do things in peace and good leisure. If they neglect some small matter, they do not therefore think themselves lost. They know very well that order and fitness are better than disorder, and therefore they choose to walk orderly. At the same time they know that their salvation does not hang thereon. Therefore they are not in such great anxiety as the others.


Following the Middle Path

These fourth are judged and blamed by both the other parties, for the hirelings (that is the Reward Folks) say that they neglect their duties and accuse them of being unrighteous, and the like. The others (that is, the Free Spirits) hold them in derision. They say that they cleave unto weak and beggarly elements, and the like. But the enlightened ones keep the middle path, which is also the best; for a lover of God is better and dearer to Him than a hundred thousand hirelings. It is the same with all their actions.   Furthermore, note this well, that to receive God’s commands and His counsel and all His teaching, is the privilege of the inward person, according to which he is united with God. Where there is such a union, the outward person is surely taught and ordered by the inward, so that no outward commandment or teaching is needed (My emphasis). But the commandments and laws of human beings belong to the outer person. They are needful for those who know nothing better. Otherwise they would not know what to do and what to refrain from, and would become like dogs or other beasts.

Happiness and Transformation

What is the use of studying transformation if it does not make us happy? Is happiness what God wants for us? We live in a world that keeps telling us happiness is around the corner. It is in the next big thing I am wanting. Until I get it and realize happiness from things is fleeting at best. While that seems obvious from scripture it is also proven in science. The following is based on research I have read on happiness:


I have done a fair amount of reading on “happiness” in studying the ways of the heart. Happiness is pretty much hardwired. To a great degree happiness is part of our personality and we have a happiness ‘set” point. Research show three things that affect happiness.

1. Ecstatic Happiness – that which comes from buying the thing we wanted, getting the partner we sought, sex, drugs, ice cream. The up side is happiness comes, but only lasts a short time. If we pursue the same thing to obtain the same level of happiness the next time it requires a little more of the same experience to get the same response….addiction is often the result.

2. Zone or flow Happiness – When we are doing that for which we believe we are called to do, have the skills to do, and gain great joy while doing it. There is a level of happiness that comes from fulfilling a dream based on who we are created to be.

3. Benevolence – ironically we are often most happy when we give of ourselves to someone or something without expectation of return. Think of the person on the street who is begging and the since of joy or happiness that comes from giving a donation. Why is it we have volunteers? There is a real since of happiness that comes from giving of ourselves and our resources to a cause bigger than ourselves without expectation of return.

Many of those who are part of the Positive Psychology movement write on and do research on happiness. One of my favorites is Sonja Lyubomirsky - http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/bloggers/sonja-lyubomirsky

See her article on money: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=can-money-buy-happiness

Happiness is a by-product of knowing who we are in Christ and being transformed in order to fulfill my calling (Eph. 2:10).  Our best chance at happiness is understanding that the more I am who God made me to be the greater the internal joy in fulfilling that purpose.

Be Happy, Be Transformed

Transformed to Transform

Our call as Christians is to be engaged with Jesus so that we might engage the world with eternity.  ICM is getting ready to move into the "next" 25 years of ministry.  Our desire is not to build  buildings (though we are) or establish large organizations (though we have) but to engage leaders with authentic transformation so that the same leaders might engage the world with authentic Christianity.  So, what is "authentic" transformation?

The beginning of all change is based on the recognition that we are not what we should be based on a model of what could be.  Every Christian is tainted by the sin nature that seeks to align us and conform us to a world led by the Prince of this World, Satan.  Authentic change begins at the point of need.  I recognize that apart from the Grace of God I am locked into a self serving life that seeks to suck happiness out of my every experience...and generally fails.  Authentic transformation understands that we are in a battle with our own flesh, Satan and the things of this world and apart from God we will lose.  Authentic transformation recognizes that God calls us to become like Jesus and the call comes with the power (Grace) to be transformed.  Authentic transformation recognizes that I must "choose" to be transformed, but the power of transformation comes from God alone.

Authentic transformation recognizes that apart from God I can do nothing of eternal value, but with God I can "do all things through him who strengthens me."  Our desire is to see those who have been transformed reaching across nations and continents to bring the Grace of transformation into every nation, tongue and tribe!
Phil