ABCs of Spiritual Formation: X is for Christ
"Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion - it is a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ."
-- Billy Graham
X is for Christ
X in the Greek alphabet is Chi which is the first letter of Christ and is often used with P (rho) in a cool graphic as the first two letter of Christ (X=Ch, P=r). I thought going this route was better than getting cute with Xylophone, Xerox, or X-ray.
Discussing Christ in spiritual formation is obvious so how can I make this stand out? Often when hearing what we already know, it becomes background noise and is ignored. How often do you read a familiar Bible passage and find your mind wandering? Am I alone in that experience? I doubt it. This is why we enjoy paraphrases like The Message.
WHO IS HE TO YOU?
Consider Jesus.
Take a few minutes...
What comes to mind? Write it down.
How does he appear to you?
Perhaps you think of a film or artistic depiction and see him as that person?
Or maybe he appears to you as he did to John as described in Revelation 1:12-16.
"Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me. When I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was one like the Son of Man, dressed in a robe and with a golden sash wrapped around his chest. The hair of his head was white as wool—white as snow—and his eyes like a fiery flame. His feet were like fine bronze as it is fired in a furnace, and his voice like the sound of cascading waters. He had seven stars in his right hand; a sharp double-edged sword came from his mouth, and his face was shining like the sun at full strength."
Do you see him when you are out and about in all the people in your world? This seems to be another option as described in Matthew 25:35-40.
“‘For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or without clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit you?’
“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Or is he the post-resurrection Jesus with the nail scarred hands and feet who proved himself to Thomas?
Is he a friend? Does he smile when he looks at you? Do you feel his delight? If not, take some time to sit with him and let his love wash over you. Let him address the lies keeping you from his love. Or perhaps you have been hurt and parts of you are "protecting" you from being loved. Let him speak to those parts.
Or is he a king? How about a servant?
One thing we can know for sure is that he is always with us (Matthew 28:20). He invites us to abide in him (John 15:5). According to Revelation 3:20 he won't barge into our lives but awaits an invitation (this is written to believers).
CHRISTLIKE
Maturing in Christ means that we are becoming like him. We can turn to the other cheek in loving nonviolent resistance when the occasion arises. We love our enemies which often includes family members. We love the church which is often most difficult. We don't have to have the last word. We love beauty and nothing is more beautiful than Jesus, especially as seen in all the people around us who bear his image.
Studies show that we become like the people we spend the most time with. Thus, becoming like Christ means we are spending time with him. What does it look like for you to enjoy Jesus?
FOLLOW
Making plans is a good thing. Setting goals is helpful. Strategic thinking and problem solving are needed. Learning is part of growing. The Spirit of Christ leads us through these things, but at root our call is to follow and obey Jesus.
He said that loving him is obeying him. He told us to make disciples who obey him. How each of us carries that out will be unique. As Dallas Willard encouraged us, don't ask what Jesus would do, but what would Jesus do if he were me.
Thus, we get up each morning assuming he is leading us. The invitation is to invite him in, sup with him, and follow him where he leads. For many of us, that means going to work or school and continuing to follow him there. When we have "free time", we let him lead. Sometimes this means doing something specific and sometimes he invites us to choose what our heart desires. One sign of maturity is how we handle that free time and what we feel in it. Regardless, he is with us and has promised to finish what he started in us. We can rest in that. Philippians 1 and Romans 8 make clear, he will do the work, and we will be conformed to his image. We will become like Christ as we walk with him.
We can rest; it isn't up to us, and yet he does it with us. Enjoy Jesus. We are not following him; we are becoming the kind of people who follow him. In other words, what else would we do? As we grow, our hearts align with his. We live in grace. Our lenses conform to his, our interior conforms to his, and our experience of him deepens in intimacy. His mercies are new every morning.
Of course, we still have bad days and down days and falling days and failure. We don't stop being human. But none of this separates us from him. His grace is sufficient. He will keep us; he holds us. We are always welcome whether we are Peter acknowledging him as Messiah or getting rebuked for Satanic thinking (Matthew 16). His arms are open whether we are the younger son or the older or somewhere in between (Luke 15).
Enjoy Jesus.
"When we look at the love of Christ, we make a wonderful discovery. Love is more a decision than an emotion! Christ-like love applauds good behavior. At the same time Christ-like love refuses to endorse misbehavior. Jesus loved His apostles, but He wasn't silent when they were faithless. Jesus loved the people in the temple, but He didn't sit still when they were hypocritical."
-- Max Lucado