alled Renovation of the Heart in which he speaks of denial as a hindrance to spiritual formation. "WE must see the soul and the person in its ruined condition, with its malformed and dysfunctional mind, feelings, body and social relations, before we can understand that it must be delivered and reformed and how that can be done."One of the greatest obstacles to effective spiritual formation in Christ today is simple failure to understand and acknowledge the reality of the human situation as it affects Christians and nonChristians alike. We must start from where we really are.
"Choice is where sin dwells. So frequntly sin is covered up. Though sexual sin is widely publicized it is far from being the only problem. The presence of vanity, egotism, hostility, fear, indifference and down right meanness can be counted on among professing Christians. Their opposites cannot be counted on or simply assumed in the standard Christian group; and the rare individual who exemplifies them – genuine purity and humility, death to selfishness, freedom from rage and depression, and so on – will stand out in the the group with all the obtrusiveness of a sore thumb. He or she will be a constant hindrance in group processes and will be personally conflicted by those processes, for he or she will not be living on the same terms as the others. "
As I coached basketball many years ago, I would look for that which needed to be changed to bring us success and then administer corrective steps to that end. So also in the Christian's life. We must deny denial, allow the Lord to examine us thoroughly. Show us what is wrong, weak or obstructing God's life living through us. Then pray that long, deeply theological prayer: "HELP!" And cooperate with the Lord as He brings circumstances our way to work on growth. Spiritual Formation!
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