Attaining the Inner Life of Christ

"The beginning is the most important part of the work...for that is the time character is being formed." - Plato

This quote from Plato moved me the other day. How true. Maybe because my own son is almost here. Maybe because it is simply truth. Either way, I think it deserves our attention.

Never have I realized more that it is so important for character to be instilled at the beginning of life than now; I think about it all the time. Knox will be here soon, and it will be imperative for my wife and I to teach him and help to develop character inside of him.

But it is also a new year - and it is time for us to realize what areas of our lives that need to have the character of Christ formed in them. Our life and how we respond to the world is a result of who we have become in the depths of our being. We call this inner being, our soul, or our will - or, as a comprehensive term, our heart. From the contents of our heart, we see our world and interpret reality. We live from our depths - most of which we understand only in part.

The work of Christ always begins in our heart and moves outward into our everyday experiences. To get to that place of increased self-knowledge, honesty, humility before God, and a consistently Christlike attitude, we must step away in moments of reflection or even times of personal retreat to examine the inner workings of our human nature.

In this new year, we must focus our spiritual formation entirely on Jesus. Our formation of character must have as its goal conformity to Christ, a process that arises out of purposeful interaction with the grace of God in Christ. Obedience is an essential outcome (John 13:34-35; 14:21). We can't manifest Christlikeness through a primary focus on external behavior though.

In my experience, when externals are the main emphasis, spiritual formation doesn't really happen. People fall into legalism quickly. We must "have Christ formed in us (Gal. 4:19)." Our aim is not first to act differently but to become different in our inner being - to obtain a renewed soul - to engage in sanctification of our souls.

Would you give yourself to a transformation of character in this month of 2010? God's gracious action through His Word and Spirit is something we are responsible for - we can look like Christ (Rom. 8:29)!

See you Thursday night,

pcraig