As Christ is formed within us, we undergo a total transformation. It is not an instantaneous glorious event that sweeps us off our feet and transforms us in a moment. No - it is a process and a rather arduous and lengthy process. In the midst of the process, we frequently feel so alone, so dark. The coccoon of our transformation closes tightly in on us, suffocating us beyond description.
We cry out - let this cup pass from me! In spite of our cries, the process continues. While the external desire for release from the process spills from our lips, somewhere deep within our spirit we respond with - not my will yours be done. And the it continues...
There does come a day, however, when the coccoon of transformation begins to be less suffocating. Bit by bit we emerge. In some ways, we are completely unaware of what has just occured in us. Yet everything is differant now.
As Christ is formed in us, we find ourselves far outside of the accepted parameters of the religious institutions of the day. We don't try to move outside the box, we don't even think about the box. We simply have the mind of Christ. His thoughts are our thoughts, His priorities are our priorities. We no longer try to love as Christ loved, we love as Christ loved without trying. Striving to do the right thing no longer compels us, Christ compels us. The expectations of people do not determine our course of life, the desires of the Father motivate us. We discover freedom, freedom from the bondage of expectations.
That freedom now puts us in direct conflict with our prevailing religious systems. Initially we don't realize the conflict but at some point it happens. We are enjoying freedom and life as Christ is lived through us and then something occurs that highlights the change that has taken place within us. We eat with unwashed hands; we pick grain on the Sabbath. We heal at the improper time and place. And the attacks start...
At first we are surprised; taken aback. Shouldn't all who name the name of Christ be supportive of the work of Christ? Then the reality begins to set in - not all who name the name of Christ have submitted to the formation of Christ within them. As Christ is more fully formed in us, it reveals the lack of the formation of Christ within them. As a result, they feel the need to attack.
The words of Jesus ring true - Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Christ formed
My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you...
For the past several weeks, I have been reflecting on the formation of Christ within us. The early mornings and late nights spent in the barn with the cows give a great deal of time to ponder the words of Paul. While we have heard plenty of teaching about who we are in Christ, very little is said about who Christ is within us. The formation of Christ within us transforms us.
Perhaps the key to the formation of Christ has to do with the "where of the formation". Until Christ is formed in you... in you...in you. It seems to me that most of what passes for Christianity has less to do with the inner person and more to do with external actions.
Several articles in the religion section of the local paper illustrate this. A headline proclaimed - Sharing one's faith is hard but essential. The article went on to promote an event where people could learn how to share their faith. Huh?? Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. In other words what is in the heart comes out in our words. The only way it can be difficult to share one's faith is if that faith is an external issue, divorced from the heart.
In a more recent article, the writer interviewed people who were involved with building and giving away small crosses that could be planted in a front yard where the could be seen. One gentleman stated that we have to let people know that we are Christians. Huh?? Putting a small white cross in my yard is how people will know I am a Christian?? The pear tree outside our house never has to make any kind of declarations about being a pear tree. It has to do nothing but be; be what it was created to be.
The formation of Christ is not an external event. One cannot go to a formation of Christ seminar and learn how to have Christ formed in us. The only thing we can do is to allow the formation process to occur.
I do know that it is a painful process, painful for us as well as for those close to us. Paul likened the formation of Christ in those at Galatia to the pain of childbirth for him. Perhaps the pain is one reason that we shy away from allowing the process to occur. We fear the fellowship of suffering with Jesus. We attempt to avoid pain at all cost. Yet it is only in the crucible that Christ becomes formed within us.
For the past several weeks, I have been reflecting on the formation of Christ within us. The early mornings and late nights spent in the barn with the cows give a great deal of time to ponder the words of Paul. While we have heard plenty of teaching about who we are in Christ, very little is said about who Christ is within us. The formation of Christ within us transforms us.
Perhaps the key to the formation of Christ has to do with the "where of the formation". Until Christ is formed in you... in you...in you. It seems to me that most of what passes for Christianity has less to do with the inner person and more to do with external actions.
Several articles in the religion section of the local paper illustrate this. A headline proclaimed - Sharing one's faith is hard but essential. The article went on to promote an event where people could learn how to share their faith. Huh?? Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. In other words what is in the heart comes out in our words. The only way it can be difficult to share one's faith is if that faith is an external issue, divorced from the heart.
In a more recent article, the writer interviewed people who were involved with building and giving away small crosses that could be planted in a front yard where the could be seen. One gentleman stated that we have to let people know that we are Christians. Huh?? Putting a small white cross in my yard is how people will know I am a Christian?? The pear tree outside our house never has to make any kind of declarations about being a pear tree. It has to do nothing but be; be what it was created to be.
The formation of Christ is not an external event. One cannot go to a formation of Christ seminar and learn how to have Christ formed in us. The only thing we can do is to allow the formation process to occur.
I do know that it is a painful process, painful for us as well as for those close to us. Paul likened the formation of Christ in those at Galatia to the pain of childbirth for him. Perhaps the pain is one reason that we shy away from allowing the process to occur. We fear the fellowship of suffering with Jesus. We attempt to avoid pain at all cost. Yet it is only in the crucible that Christ becomes formed within us.
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