12. The process of transformation is a journey that takes much time, in fact, a lifetime.

(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.) 

If you plan to go on a journey, you might need to train, secure a guide or guide book, and sign up some traveling companions. If the process of transformation is like a journey, what do we need for it?

If our journey takes a lifetime, what is the goal?

If our transformation is a journey, what do you need to be able to enjoy the journey so you are not overly distracted by reaching the destination?

Why do you think that our transformation tends to take so much time?

How does it make you feel to think that your life may end without your transformation being finished? How do you think this makes Jesus feel?

Seventeenth-century French theologian François Fénelon observed that “It would be as great a miracle to see a person full of self die suddenly to self-consciousness and self-interest as it would be to see a child go to bed a mere child and rise up the next morning thirty years old” (The Complete Fénelon).

We live in an age and culture that expects everything to happen quickly, and easily. We enjoy fast food drive throughs, drive-through car washes, fast internet speeds, and microwave ovens, just to name a few. Sometimes our churches fall into this quick-fix trap and promise spiritual “fast fruit” such as a six-week discipleship course, a weekend marriage seminar, a few-days pilgrimage, or even a quickie confession. This get-well-quick thinking can even make its way into our theology.

We may expect that a decision to follow Jesus should take care of all of my problems—and fast! However, though God is capable of miracles of transformation that can accomplish in some, what a long journey of transformation is needed for in most, this should not be expected or considered normal.

For most Jesus followers, the journey of becoming like Him and producing the abundant fruit He promised requires a long process. In most cases, even after a life-long journey, we find that we still have diseases that need healing, unhealthy habits that remain unbroken, wayward thoughts and desires that linger, and relational brokenness that still needs repair.

The good news is, this is normal. God gets it, “for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.” (Psalm 103, NIV). Our response, then, needs to include patience. We must learn to give ourselves the same grace that God gives us. However, we should not let that grace become an excuse to stop making an effort. We know that the fruit is worth the effort, and in the meanwhile, we can enjoy our journey with Jesus.