In Part One of this series of blog posts, I wrote about the first part of a book I've been reading called, "Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation," by Robert Mulholland, Jr. It's been a great read so I wanted to share some insights from the book.
Mulholland's definition of "Spiritual formation" is fourfold; (1) a process (2) of being conformed, (3) to the image of Christ, (4) for the sake of others. Last time, I wrote about the first part - a process. This time, we'll tackle "being conformed."
The first thing the author points out is that this definition does NOT say that spiritual formation is a process of "conforming ourselves" to the image of Christ, but of BEING conformed. The difference here is an issue of control. I think all of us like to feel somewhat in control of our lives, and some of us struggle with this issue even more than others. If you don't think so, study the ways you respond when something disrupts your plans. In our spiritual pilgrimage, this is a HUGE issue. We don't mind spiritual formation as long as we can be in control of it...as long as we can set the limits, the pace and the direction. Letting God take control (and then obedience to his direction) are very difficult for most of us.
Our culture doesn't help us much in our battle either. We are a do-it-yourself culture and we are what Mulholland calls a "objectivizing, informational-functional" culture.
Objectivizing because we view the world as something to be "grasped" and controlled for our own purposes. "Grapers powerfully resist begin grasped by God. Manipulators strongly reject being shaped by God. Controllers are inherently incapable of yielding control to God."
Informational-Functional because we seek to possess information, either knowledge or techniques, so that we may function more effectively to bring about the results we desire in our lives.
But Mulholland says there's even a deeper dimension of this need of control: "We tend to see such control as essential to the meaning, value and purpose of our being." He cites things like workaholism through which we seek to prove we have value and meaning and purpose. "To put it simply, we live as though our doing determined our being." The rest of the Chapter is primarily focused on this confusion.
Being & Doing
Mulholland write about the first temptation of Jesus as read in Matthew 4:1-4. In Matthew 3:16-17, Jesus is baptized and the heavens open and the Spirit comes down like a dove to rest on Him and a voice says "this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." "...the Spirit can be seen as Jesus' empowerment for ministry and "This is my Son" as Jesus' call to ministry," write Mulholland.
But Mulholland continues, "Isn't it interesting that the Spirit, the source of Jesus' empowerment, is also focal in the temptation that follows" (Matthew 4:1 - "The Spirit led him into the wilderness to be tempted"). So temptation isn't alien to us, it's not something from the outside that intrudes. Instead, "the most critical temptations attach themselves to the call and empowerment of God that defines the meaning and value and purpose of our existence. Jesus' first temptation "went to the heart of who He was." Mulholland says this is the same temptation to which our culture has succumbed.
In Matthew 4:3, the temptation is set: "If you are the Son of God, speak, that these stones may become bread." So, the temptation is for Jesus to authenticate God's call by doing something which He is empowered to do by the Spirit. "More significantly, it is a temptation to reverse the roles of being and doing."
Being and doing are related but we have to get the order correct! Our doing flows from our being. But we tend to think we have to do the right things to be the right kind of Christian. We should cling to the truth that is it God who is the source of spiritual transformation, not us. "This is inherent in Jesus' response to his temptation, 'People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' Our relationship with God, not our doing, is the source of our being."
Mulholland concludes this chapter with these words, "This means that our spiritual journey is not our setting out to find God. It is a journey of learning to yield ourselves to God and discovering where God will take us."
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