What Are We Doing Here? MORPHING

That isn't an alien offering the "we come in peace greeting". It's me, geared up to do some serious home renovations. Two days of scraping popcorn ceilings helped me get my head around this week's idea that we are MORPHING- becoming more like Jesus.

MORPHING- MORE THAN WE BARGAINED FOR?
Transformations often grow in scope and scale. For example, I had to wear the hazmat getup because we discovered asbestos in our ceilings. Yes, we were going to take them down anyway- but the toxic news made it more complicated than we had planned. Same thing happened when some of us got involved with Jesus. We think we signed up for salvation, only to find that transformation is a mandatory part of the deal. God doesn't just forgive us, He gives us a new life to grow into and live. Although we'll see and be just like Jesus someday, we've got the rest of our days to grow towards Him.

MORPHING IS A PROCESS, NOT A PROJECT
Start remodeling a home and you'll probably find that you're never quite done. Yeah, you might finish a project, but there'll most likely be another. And another. And another. Sounds like our journeys with Jesus. When it comes to our transformation, we never arrive in this life. Instead, we keep growing and maturing. One one hand, this ought to take some of the pressure off. We can't, and aren't supposed to change all at once. But, on the other side of the equation- a process suggests movement. If I'm not changing (not matter how slowly or incrementally), then I'm missing something significant about this life with Jesus.

MORPHING TAKES ALL THE HELP WE CAN GET
Ever watch one of those home improvement shows where they remodel or redecorate someone's house? Think for a second about who is involved. 1. The professionals (often the cast of the show). 2. The homeowners. 3. Friends, family, neighbors. Who plays a part in our spiritual development? All of the above. God (the pro) provides the power that only He can provide. We (the life-owners) have to put forth some effort and build sweat equity. And our faith community (neighbors) have an important role too. This may be the missing ingredient for some of us. If we aren't willing to speak truth about our lives to others and let them lovingly speak truth back to us and build us up, we may not have all the help that we'll need to morph. (For more on the importance of allowing others to carry us to Jesus, check the last post on LINKING UP.)

LET'S GET GOING
The good news is that we don't have to stay the same. The challenging news is that we can't stay the same if we claim to follow Jesus. So gear up. Get your grungy clothes on and let's start scraping all the old toxic crap that's been hanging around far too long.

REFLECT:
Q: How would you describe your current level of maturity as a follower of Jesus? (Ex: Are you a newborn? Toddler? Child? Adolescent? Young Adult? Adult? Wise old sage? Something else?)

Q: How have you changed as you've been following Jesus? What area(s) of your life show the most transformation so far? What still needs work? (For examples, check a list of character traits in 2 Peter 1:5-9.)

Q: Who has been responsible for/contributed to your spiritual growth and transformation? You? God? Others in your faith community? Some combination of the three? If so, what roles has each played?

Q: How have you grown? What situations, experiences, practices, etc. has God used to help shape and mature you?

Q: If you haven't seen a lot of transformation, what do you attribute that to?