God’s passion is for our spiritual transformation!
Quest’s second paradigm states, God’s passion is for our spiritual transformation!
Tragically, many Christians view coming to Christ more like “fire insurance” than a growing relationship with our Lord in which he transforms us to become more like him. If we call ourselves Christians—followers of Jesus Christ—then spiritual transformation is not optional. Life change in Christ is not the “deluxe tour” as opposed to the “basic tour” of following Jesus.
If we truly know Christ as Savior, then we want to change! We want to be like him! In fact, Paul describes this longing in terms of our “groaning inwardly as we eagerly wait for” God’s transforming work to be complete in us (Romans 8:18-25).
“Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.” (Colossians 3:10 NLT) The stifling misconception, I’ve tried but I just can’t change totally misses the mark!
I was 19 years old. As long as I could remember back I had been a fingernail biter. My grandpa constantly reminded me of my bad habit. I loved my grandpa, but every time we went to visit him, he asked to see my fingernails and would scold me for biting them. I had tried so many times to quit, but I had been biting my nails for so long that it had become an unconscious habit.
Finally one day at 19, I simply prayed, “Father, I want to stop biting my nails, but I don’t even know when I’m doing it. You know how many times I’ve tried to quit and the gimmicks I’ve used to help me stop. But I can’t do it. So please take this from me.” And God did. He simply took that habit from me that day for good and it was gone!
Sometimes a specific element of our spiritual transformation is that abrupt and that complete. But usually we encounter a gradual transformation that requires our constant and consistent daily trust in Christ. And that pleases him.
About six years ago, God pinpointed an ugly habit in my life of getting angry with other drivers when I was behind the wheel. I find it puzzling to look back on that moment when God revealed my problem to me. For years I had blown my cool, became convicted of it and confessed my sin to God. But for the life of me, I don’t ever remember asking him to change me. This time was different. I didn’t want to blow it anymore, I longed for Christ to change me.
I began asking him to transform me—to change the way I viewed other drivers and to respond to them differently. This time these self-centered, sinful patterns did not simply disappear. Instead, Christ wanted me to depend on him to change me every time I get behind the wheel. He began giving me his character in response to other’s driving patterns. He offered me a submissive and charitable heart to replace aggression and self-promotion. I still must depend on Jesus to change me every time I drive and he is changing me.
The liberating truth here affirms, relying on God’s mercy I have the power to change! Paul encourages us in Philippians 2:12-13 (NLT), “Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”
God saved you and me to change us and make us more like Jesus. Invite him to change you. Take the steps he asks you to take and trust him daily for his grace and mercy to bring about your spiritual transformation.
©2009 Rob Fischer
2 comments
Rob, what about habits of sin we have that we ask to have “taken from us”… and yet they persist?
I don’t mean to get too personal here (well, yes I do… so I guess I just hope it doesn’t make anyone uncomfortable) but I have just this dilemma.
As a concrete example: I overeat. And I don’t exercise enough. It’s not a secret – anyone who looks at me can know this about me. I know it’s not a good habit, and I actually have asked the Lord to take this habit from me. And yet, when the Wendy’s hamburger beckons, I come running.
Does God sometimes say to us, “Hey, kid, you just need to work on your self-control?”
Ray, I appreciate your openness about habits of sin! You’re not alone in this. In a later posting for Quest I share about two incidents in my life. One in which God immediately took away a habit and the other in which I still need to depend on him daily. I think most of the major sin issues we wrestle with require a daily dependence on Christ–and that is right where God wants us! Dependent on him (Galatians 2:20).
In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Paul talks about a “thorn in his flesh, a messanger of Satan” that tormented him. We don’t know for sure what this “thorn in the flesh” was, because he doesn’t tell us. The important thing is how Paul responded to it. First, he turned to God and pleaded with the Lord three times to take it from him. In the midst of his pleading, however, God told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” We must not miss what he’s saying here, because this isn’t a copout for sinning. In fact, Paul concludes, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
Now apply Paul’s conclusion to your example, Ray, of overeating. God could deliver someone instantly from a habit like this, but more often than not, I believe he wants us to depend and rely on him daily for the strength to do what’s right. “I am weak, but he is strong.” Also, self-control is a fruit of the Spirit that comes by remaining in (living in) him. As I write this, it occurs to me that “self-control” is only necessary where there’s an on-going temptation. For if we’ve been completely delivered from some habit, there’s no longer need for self-control in it. But self-control is needed where, left to our self and our fleshly desires we would indulge! Paul urged Timothy, “train yourself for godliness!” (1 Timothy 4:7) And we do that in dependence on him.
Talking about all this is easy! But truly relying on God’s power to overcome, while simple, is not always easy! And that too is a part of learning to trust and depend on him.
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