3. If I am living in a meaningful relationship with Jesus, I will naturally take on a character that resembles His.
(Before looking at the questions below, take a few minutes to think about this statement. Invite Jesus to speak to you about what He would like you to notice.)
WHO ARE THE PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE YOU DEEPLY ADMIRE? WHAT ARE THE WAYS YOU HAVE BECOME LIKE THEM? WHAT CHARACTER TRAITS DO THEY HAVE THAT YOU SHARE?
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE QUALITIES YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED IN YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS? WHICH OF THESE INVITES YOU TO BECOME LIKE THAT?
WHAT COULD YOU DO TO GROW CLOSER TO JESUS, TO COME TO KNOW HIM BETTER, HIS CHARACTER AND HIS WAYS?
Spiritual disciplines are an important part of our spiritual life: they can help shape us into the image of Christ, they can bring goodness and abundance to us, and most importantly, they can help us develop and participate in an intimate relationship with Jesus.
Our relationship with Jesus in not only a goal of our spiritual disciplines, it can also be the process by which we are formed. Becoming like Jesus is essential for our spiritual lives. We can work at this through our spiritual disciplines, but we can also be formed into Christlikeness by drawing close to Jesus. As we grow close to Jesus, as we learn to know him, understand his ways, and grow to love and admire Him, this connection will naturally cause us to become like Him. Emulation is a powerful force for change in us.
We naturally become like those we emulate. Think of a child who worships and emulates their parent. Notice how they begin to mimic their parent, talk like them, and act like they do. Psychologists refer to this as attachment and they teach us that the power of attachment in our formation is significant. In our desire for spiritual growth, spiritual disciplines can help us grow; but perhaps a better, more organic process, is simply to draw close to Jesus, to mimic Him, to grow lovingly attached to him, and to naturally take on His character.
But how do we grow close to Jesus? The answer often will include some spiritual disciplines, not for the purpose of formation, but rather for the purpose of connection. As we use spiritual disciplines to connect to Jesus, we experience the process of naturally being formed into His likeness. As we fix our eyes on Jesus, abiding in Him and drawing closer to Him, the formation of our souls will take place naturally, almost without our effort or even noticing.
As we think about the role of spiritual disciplines in our lives and as we make plans to use these disciplines, it is critical that we understand the primary role of disciplines to connect us to Jesus so that our love and connection to Him will naturally produce the person we desire to become.