This is the second in a series of posts coming out of Men’s Spiritual Retreat held last weekend.
Being conformed to the image of Christ is a process. It’s a journey (p.12). That’s the challenge of M. Robert Mulholland in his book, Invitation to a Journey. Part of this statement is especially hard for men. Being conformed is about giving up control. It’s about letting go of the reins. That’s hard for us to do. Not just as men, but as 21st century American men.
Part of this statement is something that might still appeal to us. That is the idea of journey, of walking forward in the process. This implies action. You see, spiritual formation then is not about sitting still, watching paint dry and hoping that God transforms you in your ecstatic quest to connect with the grass growing outside. No, God challenges you to seek out experiences where he can grab a hold of you. He challenges you to do things that may involve giving up control. He challenges you to take risks.
Do you like that tension? It’s hard for me. How have you sought out conforming experiences? I can think of things like mission trips, small groups, and individual spiritual mentors that have done so for me. How will you take this challenge to heart? Are you willing to find people that will speak God’s Word to you, sometimes words you want to hear and sometimes words you don’t want to hear?
Tags: conformed, faith, Invitation to a Journey, journey, Mulholland, spiritual formation
I agree. Giving up control is can be frightening! At this point I am not sure how I would move forward. Do we seek the challenges or will God place them before us? Do we seek to join God’s work that is currently underway, or do we seek to meet needs that have not been met? God’s word provides us with a guide to how to live our lives, and although it is all spelled or for me in black in white, I know I often don’t meet up to his standards however, I know having this pointed out to me would be difficult to accept from a peer. When praying about my imperfections I am comforted by the fact that God’s love and forgiveness lifts the burden of my imperfections. It is the with this knowledge, that as I prayerfully read God’s Word and realize that I have not followed his path, that I can ask for help in finding my way back to Him. It is my hope that if I am presented with or if someone needs to approach me with God’s word to get me back on track, that it is done with love and understanding. We had much discussion about the “what” that needs to be done, but we did not have time to discuss the ‘how”.
I think the answer is obviously, “yes.”
I always liked and hated that answer at the same time when my professors used it. Do we seek challenges? Yes. Do we look for ones God places in front of us? Yes. Look for work underway or that still needs to be done? Yes.
As far as things that are already being put in front of us- well here at Messiah, the 40 Days of Community presents us with a number of things, from taking on a community project like Habitat or becoming an International Student Friendship Partner, to getting more involved in one of our study and fellowship groups, like the Men’s Study, GMC, etc. These groups are meant to push your study of God deeper, but also to give some relationships where people get to know you and can both encourage and challenge you a little.
At the same time, I’m always playing with new opportunities. I’ve played around with the idea of seeing if some men would be interested in starting a early morning, before work type study/challenge group. What I mean is a group of men who want to dig into the word and topics relevant to men that is also pointedly about challenging them to apply those truths to their home, work, civic, and church lives. A group small enough to do that, but open to expanding as the Lord directs.
That’s a scary challenge to me, a group that would not just dig into the Bible, but into our own lives and thoughts. Maybe something that will just keep floating around in my world a little, but if anyone has thoughts, let me know.
Mario, I really appreciate your comment- both the openness about where your journey has brought you so far and your willingness to walk into some challenges in the future.
The Study/challenge group sounds intriguing. I am willing to give it a try. We will need to put together an outline for this group and present it to other who may be interested. I am willing to help you with this outline.