Being Formed in the Image of Christ: It's a Process
“Yet, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.” Isaiah 64:8 NRSV
Series: Love: For the Sake of Others
Devotional: 1 of 5
In his book, Invitation to a Journey, M. Robert Mulholland Jr. defines spiritual formation as the "process of being formed in the image of Christ for the sake of others." Today, we begin a five-part devotional series called Love: For the Sake of Others focusing on Jesus's words about the advancement of His Kingdom and how we are called to live our lives marked by love “for the sake of others.” But first, we need to lay a foundation by considering the first three elements of Mulholland's definition of spiritual formation.
First, Mulholland describes spiritual formation as a "process." Spiritual formation is not a one-time event; instead, it is a lifelong journey of shedding our false selves and putting on Christ. Each of us has fallen short of God's original intent for our lives as His creation (see Genesis 3). Because of the fall, we are all in need of God's grace and forgiveness, which is only made possible through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Out of the overflow of His grace, we partner with the Holy Spirit’s work, moving us closer to wholeness in Christ.
Next, it is vital to understand that “being formed” in the image of Christ is not something we can do on our own. Only God can initiate and sustain our formation. Isaiah 64:8 reminds us that "we are the clay, and you [God] are our potter; we are all the work of your hand." However, everything in us fights against this process of being formed which requires a surrendered heart willing to be molded by God. In our culture, self-reliance is praised; dependence on anyone or anything, including God, is seen as a weakness. But the Gospel of Matthew makes it clear that "those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my [Jesus] sake will find it." (Matthew 10:39)
Finally, in whose “image” are we being formed? In Genesis 1:27, we see that "God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." Therefore, every human who has ever lived has been marked with the "image of God." Fast forward to the New Testament, where Paul writes that Christ "is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation" (Colossians 1:15) and that each of us "is being transformed into the same image [of Christ]." (2 Corinthians 3:18)
Scripture repeatedly tells us that God desires to have a personal, intimate relationship with each of us. He longs to walk hand in hand along the path of our lives, molding us into the image of Christ so that our life might be marked by love "for the sake of others."
OnThe3rdDay Devotionals
Devotionals that illustrate Biblical principles in a simple and short format that can be applied to your everyday life.
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