The Journey (BCM)

In The Life You’ve Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People, John Ortberg starts off his book by saying he is disappointed with himself.

I am disappointed that I still love God so little and sin so much.” He then asks, “Where does this disappointment come from?… My failure to be the person God had in mind when he created me.

Ortberg continues and says this disappointment is not unique to him but that it is universal. Like Popeye, people who feel like failures say in their own way, “I yam what I yam.” That is, don’t get your hopes up. Don’t expect too much from me.

Questions:

1. On a scale of 1 to 10, how happy would you say you are with your spiritual life? What factors went in to your rating? Or how did you decide on your rating?
2. What do people seem to imply when they say “I’m sorry if you don’t like it, but that’s just who I am.”

Ortberg goes on to quote Soren Kierkegaard who says, “And now Lord, with your help I shall become myself.” Christians have well-founded hope that God can and will change us and make us who He always intended us to be—our real self, and not some disappointment. God intends to redeem or renovate your life—all of it.

Questions:

1. If you have hope that one day you will be totally and fully happy with who you’ve become, what gives you this confidence?
2. What things might take away your confidence?

Fairy tales express this desire within the human heart to believe that the world as we know it is not the whole story. There are several common elements to fairy tales:

• A belief that this other world is not far away.
• There is a turn in the story that captivates the imagination and touches the deepest part of us.
• A main storyline is usually the transformation of the central character.

These common elements of fairy tales are all features of the Gospel, only the Gospel is true. Jesus announced that the kingdom of God was near and people could enter into it. He was announcing the great “turn” in human history. God is with us and invites us into a relationship with Him that will lead to our transformation.

Your story then is the story of transformation. Your calling is to become, as C.S. Lewis says, “an everlasting splendor.” (see quote)

Questions:

1. If God is committed to your personal transformation as a believer in Jesus Christ, how do you think this transformation will happen (be specific)?
2. What transformations or changes have you seen in your life because of your relationship to Jesus Christ (attitudes, perspectives, behaviors, commitments, priorities, etc)? Take a moment to reflect if you are having trouble thinking of something to share.

Ortberg goes on to point out that Moses saw a burning bush and decided to “turn aside” and look. Like Moses, we need to be aware of what God is doing around us and be responsive. Moses didn’t believe that God could use him, but God told him in essence: “You are what you are—but that’s not all that you are. You are what you are, but you are not yet what you will be….Get your hopes up!”

Personal transformation, then, is the goal of the spiritual life. We can see this from several scripture passages as well. Several forms of the word “MORPH” are used in key passages that talk about our transformation. For example:

• Galatians 4:19: “My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you…”
• Romans 8:29: “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”
• Romans 12:2: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
• 2 Corinthians 3:18: “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

Ortberg continues:

When morphing happens, I don’t just do the things Jesus would have done; I find myself wanting to do them. They appeal to me. They make sense. I don’t just go around trying to do right things; I become the right sort of person.

Questions:

1. What are some reasons people do spiritual or religious activity other than to grow spiritually or to be transformed?
2. What’s the difference, if any, between doing the right things and being a right person?

Ortberg concludes by saying that if the goal of our lives is transformation—becoming the right sort of people—then all of life can be a part of this process. This goal can be pursued full-time, and doesn’t have to be isolated to certain practices, like reading your Bible, praying and attending church services.

In the spring semester of 2008, more than 40 college students participated in an IMB initiative called Hands On, a chance to live like a missionary and impact lives in Africa. Read more about Missions opportunities through BCM.

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YaVonda Smalls, a local reporter and big supporter of our ministry in South Bend, wrote an article about our spring break trip to Panama City Beach, FL. The Tribune editors heard through YaVonda how unique our efforts are and wanted to provide coverage of it to the South Bend community. To read the excellently-written article, click here: beach-reach-story-yavonda-smalls.

In our first meeting I shared about how I met my wife April, some of the details of our relationship, and how we came to decide to get married. Like most people who eventually decide to marry, we have a story to tell. In some ways, each person’s relationship with God is like that of two people who decide to get married. Rick Richardson, in his book Reimagining Evangelism, compares marriage with conversion (or deciding to say “I do” to Jesus Christ; meaning to commit your life to following his lead):

 

“Marriage is the culmination of a process that includes friendship, courtship, meeting the family, engagement, a marriage ceremony and a honeymoon night….So conversion, like marriage, is best seen as a larger relational process with milestone events along the way. There is the decision to become intentional in the spiritual search. There is the decision to get to know more about Jesus and to begin to try to relate to Jesus. Often someone has to “pop the question” of commitment. And then there is a crisis moment of decision to trust and commit oneself to Jesus as forgiver and leader. But the parallels don’t end there. As in marriage, there is a public declaration of the mutual commitment before the community. In Scripture, this public event is always baptism. That leads to beginning to build the relationship and make a life together” (pp 132-33).

 

During our discussion time, the following question was asked: Anyone who is married has a story to tell about the start of his or her relationship that eventually led to the decision to say “I do.” How would you describe the “I do” moment in your relationship with Jesus Christ?

 

What was your discovery phase like? What was the ah-ha moment like when you realized “this is what I want,” not because anyone else wants it for me, but because I want it and I’ll do anything to have it? Coming to Jesus is like a marriage in this way. In romantic relationships, people are attracted to each other, they spend time together getting to know every detail of each other’s lives, they share stories and commit themselves to each other, they value and honor each other, and eventually one or both decides “this is the one. I’ll sacrifice anything to have and keep this treasured relationship.”