“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is, Christ.” (Ephesians 4:14-15 NIV)
I am called to become the person God had in mind when He originally designed me. This is what is behind Kierkegaard's wonderful prayer, "And now Lord, with Your help I shall become myself." …[Spiritual growth] is about that holy and mysterious process described by the apostle Paul when he said he was "in the pain of childbirth until Christ is formed in you." (Galatians 4:19) The goal of such growth is to live as if Jesus held unhindered sway over our bodies. Of course, it is still we doing the living. We are called by God to live as our uniquely created selves -- our temperament, our gene pool, our history. But to grow spiritually means to live increasingly as Jesus would in our unique place -- to perceive what Jesus would perceive if He looked through our eyes, to think what He would think, to feel what He would feel, and therefore to do what He would do.
-- John Ortberg in “The Life You've Always Wanted”
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for sharing your comments about a quote or about this ministry. Please include your name and what state or country you live in. If you do not have a registered profile, you can login using the "Anonymous" tag in the "Comment as:" box below.
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.