Genesis. Plain and simple, it means "a beginning." And today is a genesis of sorts for me.
The world of technology opens the door on a new world of opportunities. Though opportunities have their hurdles and tensions, they still remain opportunities. The question is how we leverage those opportunities and for what purpose. My purpose with this website and blog is to leverage the opportunity to share insight and resources for personal spiritual formation. Spiritual formation, in the way that I will define it, is becoming more like Jesus.
There are many spiritual "forms", but not all of them cause us to become more like Jesus. It seems that everyone is spiritual these days, and, to an extent, I see it as an opportunity. The soil is rich with the minerals of spiritual dialogue in our culture. Oprah talks about it. Dr. Phil brings it up. Spiritual self-help books line the shelves of the major bookstores. Artists and musicians are drawing, sculpting, painting, and singing about ideas of God and spirituality. Some of them are good - others not so much. The test of spirituality, in the worldview of the New Testament, is whether that spirituality is centered in Jesus - not just some ethereal idea of a god. Because human beings are, at their core, spiritual forms, spiritual forms exist in every culture both now and in antiquity. But do these spiritual forms center in Jesus? Are they shaped by the Spirit (as in the Only Spirit) or are they shaped by spirits of unknown origin? Again, for our purposes, to be spiritually formed is to be made more like Jesus.
What does that look like? I don't know that I have a great answer except to say that to the degree that you and I think, talk, and act like Jesus, we are being spiritually formed. The beauty of spiritual formation is that it is not an invitation to sameness. Our Creator wired us with a composition that is unique - customized so to speak. Even though sin has marred that reality to an extent, there still exists within each of us a God prescribed DNA. And the intent of spiritual formation is to maximize the intent of God in His creation of us. So that you don't begin to run down a dead end track, don't allow yourself to think of spiritual formation as something that YOU do alone. You have important parts - discipline, yieldedness, receptivity, flexibility and the like. But spiritual formation cannot be accomplished without the activity of the Spirit (hence the term "spiritual" formation). Spiritual formation requires God and you (and He is never absent from that duo).
So, today is a genesis of sorts. I am stepping into the opportunity of spiritual formation, and you are stepping into it with me. On the logistics side, I will probably be posting once a week for the inception of this site. So, don't be looking for a new post every day at present. I'm not sure I have that much to say for an every day post (and equally not sure that you would want to read it if I did). We will let the Spirit guide us on that one, ok?
My hope with this site is that in some various ways you will be resourced on your journey with Jesus, and inspired to follow Him more closely. That's really all I am after for you and me. So, let's genesis..............................................
