Transformed Changes and changing

Last week I wrote, “…I hit the most disturbing realization in my journey: that which I desire most to become, I cannot achieve. Like Paul (that is where the comparison stops!), I cannot simply will myself to be a better person.”

“I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.”(Rom 7:18-19)

This week it got even more troubling! I began to observe my reasons for desiring transformation: peace, better man, better example, better father, better husband…better version of me… BUT, then I had it pointed out to me that these reasons were all about “me”…and that if I want transformation for the sake of being a better “me”, I was teetering on the edge of idolatry.

At this point, part of me began wondering if it couldn’t just be simpler! Why does change have to be so complicated?

Then…slowly, it began to sink in. I am created for God’s glory. God breathed a word, that word/breath became me. I am His creature, and as in the rest of creation, I am a revelation of Him. So…living for His glory is a law of origin…simple enough.

“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…” (Gen 1:26)

“…and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” (Gen 2:7)

Simpler still, just as He brought me into existence, and gave me the stature, “person”-ality, and all the core intricacies that make me “me”…He is calling out to our soul and drawing us back to Him, and He is willing, able and DESIRING to complete what He began.

“…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phil 1:6)

So, if I make His glory my priority…which I cannot do on my own…and surrender to Him…stay in His presence…trust Him for my future…take my eyes off of “me” and fix them on Jesus…transformation just kinda happens…for the right reasons…in the right way: His reason; His power; His way.

A life that glorifies Him, is a grace. All of what it takes to be in His presence is a grace. Trust…is a grace, faith is a grace, ability is a grace. LIFE is a grace…it all flows from Him.

My part simply seems to be to to fix my eyes on Jesus, and in this I am transformed, through grace.

Simply profound.

Posted under Transformation

Titus 2:11-12 (New International Version)

^“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.”

Grace is defined by Merriam-Webster as:

“unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification b: a virtue coming from God c: a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine grace”

What unmerited divine assistance would we ask for? What virtue; regeneration? It is all a grace to be given to us by God. Here is another way of looking at it:

Psalm 127 1-2

“Unless the LORD builds the house,  those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.  It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved asleep.”

ANY task we undertake (including our transformation) will only be accomplished by the grace of God. We labor in vain if He has not granted grace to “succeed”.  If we acknowledge this in “all our ways” (Prov 3:6) then we can “work” in a posture of rest. We must depend upon God’s blessing and not our own contrivance.

Isn’t it about time that we understood the reality of John 5:15…

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

But then again…”understanding” must also be a grace…

Posted under Transformation

“Like faith and hope, trust cannot be self-generated. I cannot simply will myself to trust. What outrageous irony: the one thing that I am responsible for throughout my life I cannot generate. The one thing I need to do I cannot do. But such is the meaning of radical dependence….What does lie within my power is paying attention to the faithfulness of Jesus. That’s what I am asked to do: pay attention to Jesus throughout my journey, remembering His kindnesses….Self-absorption fades…as we fix our gaze on the brightness of the Lord. In the words of Paul: ‘We are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like Him’ (2 Cor. 3:18 – Msg)”

Brennan Manning (Ruthless Trust)

I have been involved in too many conversations lately wherein people have indicated that they feel like giving up, quitting the faith / church all together. I have felt the responsibility to know / experience the “evidence” of a life of faith by way of “successful transformation”; to be an example for inspiration and encouragement, to know the truth.

As I evaluated my own life, I came to a place where I recognized a deeper need, I realized that I had no hope (and indeed still feel this way) apart from Christ. I am not enough of what I need to be in any aspect of my life. I wouldn’t have thought this years ago (I was not smug about it), I sincerely thought I only needed to clean up one area of my life to be a “good” guy.

As I reflected on all of this, I resolved not to accept a “form of God”, but rather to press on deeper into the very presence of God, to experience life transformation in ways that I have not yet known. I didn’t want to give people pat answers that leave them feeling empty or hopeless when faced with their inability to do whatever it is that I have prescribed.

At this point I hit the most disturbing realization in my journey: that which I desire most to become, I cannot achieve. I cannot simply will myself to be a better person.

This fact seems to be the root of many of the despairing conversations I experience with others as well. We set our goals to become what we feel God would be pleased with, and voila: failure. (Rom 7: 18)

The Law cannot transform the old nature; it can only reveal how sinful that old nature is. The believer who tries to live under Law will only activate the old nature; he will not eradicate it. (Bible Exposition Commentary)

This should not be a surprise to us, for if we indeed could transform ourselves, simply by know what was right & wrong, then Christ wasted His time and pain on the cross.

“…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Heb 12: 1-3 NIV)

How can it be acknowledged through Paul’s confession that we are not able to “do” what is right, while we are later exhorted to throw aside “everything that hinders and the sin…” which is taking charge to do what is right?

What is it about “fixing or eyes of Christ” that makes all the difference? So simple…so profound…TBC…

Posted under Transformation

Here are a few excerpts from “Great Themes of Paul: Life as Participation – conference #5 (Richard ROHR, ofm, 2000):

For St. Paul, there are three “bodies / force fields” (i.e. corporate, psychic realities or systems):

1. The body of humiliation or entrapment / enslavement / entanglement: In this body, “Sin and Death” hold sway as powerful forces (Rom 7: 14 – 25). Here flesh (the false self) strives to “get it right” through performance, achievement, attainment. Here, the “Ladder Theology” is in full force. Here, the small ego focuses on self either by way of deflation or inflation.

2. The body of suffering and pain:the Body of the Crucified (and Risen) Christ. Here, Paul felt himself drawn into being in solidarity with Christ’s weakness, helplessness, brokeness, sin-fulness (”He who knew no sin was sin for us…” 2 Cor 5:20) and failure. Here, we are urged to go into the belly of the whale.

3. The body of the Church: Here, there is the new creation and freedom. The “Church” is all those who are “en Christo” in communion, participation with Christ; all who are going through transformation by dropping the false self and accepting grace (opening to being loved unconidtionally – the action of the Spirit); who are growing in solidarity with the mystery of Someone inside of us.

“…Paul often personifies both Death and Sin, depicting them as actors on the stage of human history. Hamartia (Sin) is thus an active evil force that pervades human existence. It “dwells” in humanity (Rom 7:17-23), deceives humanity and kills it (Rom 7:11)”

This is closer to our current notion of Original Sin: something we had nothing to do with, but are caught up “in”…a cosmic, corporate thing.

“sins” (plural, and with a small ’s’), for Paul, are descriptions, results of not living “in the Spirit”. They are not isolated acts against the law; they are rather symprtoms of “Sin” (the problem). They reveal the “state” (force field) you’re trapped in…(italics mine)

Hmmm…summary: trapped, snared, entangled…all positions from which we must be freed. I wonder how helpless it would feel to be “in the belly of the whale”…I wonder how reliant we would become…

What if a decision for dependence, implicit and explicit, truly is maturity? What if this dependence (like we must have for breath & heartbeat) led us to abandon ourselves to a trust in our Creator Father that transcended any understanding or interpretation of any circumstance we were in…including our present condition…?

What if we never once leaned out of this “posture” in our “doing”?

Is this the foundation (posture) for transformation?

Posted under Transformation

Okay, let me apologize ahead of time by saying that this one might get a bit muddy…sorry! That’s just where I seem to be hanging out these days…

I didn’t create “me”…I had no control over where I was born, my skin color, my frame’s composition, my gender, etc…I don’t keep my lungs breathing or my heart beating…I am thoroughly not my own possession…I must be the possession of the Creator. When I contrast this with “my possessions” I come up with a feeling that I, as the owner, am more responsible for them than “they” are.

So, what is my responsibility in my transformation?

Merriam-Webster defines transformation as: “an act, process, or instance of transforming”

“Act”, “process” or “instance” gives me hope. My past experience of success / failure would seem to indicate that transformation will take a long time…sigh…so, to recognize progress, I must focus on something other than “total completion”

M-W goes on to further define transformation as: “A change of variables or coordinates in which a function of new variables or coordinates is substituted for each original variable or coordinate…”

M-W defines variables as “a quantity that may assume any one of a set of values”. Hmmm…”values”…now there is a relevant thought along the pathway of transformation. Values (defined by me) are decision-making filters.

Coordinates would indicate a direction of travel, as in the journey of life, or towards / away from a desired destination or possibly a desired outcome, such as “transformation”

Summary: Values and Coordinates must be “swapped out” so that we arrive at a different place…ah…I like the sound of that…but now the kicker: who is responsible for the “swapping out”…I appear to be woefully inadequate…and that doesn’t provide me with much by way of hope.

Romans 7:17-20 (The Message)

“But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.”

Posted under Transformation

Sometimes I can get my head around it a little bit…you know…one of those moments where it all makes sense and you see the path ahead with clarity…you even feel what things could be / will be like…in a way that defies explanation…it just IS.

When I sense it that way, I really want it: transformation. Then I start to take some steps toward it, and realize I can’t secure it…sort of like running in a bad dream…my feet don’t work right…

Exhausted, I sit down and commence to contemplating…on good days I remember that it’s not my ability that will make transformation a reality in my life…only my Creator can finish what He started. My being is His creativity at work. He alone knows what He had in mind. While I may imagine something good for my life…He must know better…for only He holds the true / pure perspective.

I can think I want to be transformed…I can believe the benefits of transformation…I can even imagine what it might be like…but I can be swayed by many “imaginings”…I can be distracted and deceived by appearances…I can be tempted to think that I know all there is to know about what “success” looks like…what transformation should be…even that I want it for me, more than my Creator wants it for me…

Yet, more and more I am becoming convinced that He really is able to embrace the whole of me, and to finish the work He began as he thought of me before the foundations of the world. (Prov 8:22)

Posted under Transformation