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To the Corinthians, St. Paul speaks of Moses returning from Mt. Sinai with the glory, or shining brightness, of God upon his face. Moses veiled his face, so the people would not see the brilliance, which was not for them to see. St. Paul, however, speaks of our relationship with God in contrast to the experience of Moses and the Hebrew tribes:
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord (or, reflecting the glory…), are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (II Corinthians 3.18, ESV)
To the Ephesians, St. Paul speaks of maturity in spiritual terms, the goal of every person seeking completeness:
...until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to be mature persons, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,… (Ephesians 4.13, ESV, inclusive adaptation)
M Robert Mulholland, Jr., in Invitation to a Journey, writes of the naturalness of the image of Christ:
Often people have the idea that the image of Christ is something alien to human beings, something strange that God wants to add on to our life, something imposed upon us from outside that doesn’t really fit us. In reality, however, the image of Christ is the fulfillment of the deepest hungers of the human heart for wholeness.
Spiritual formation is an organic, biotic process of growth, animated by the Life Force. This Life Force is the Spirit: For this comes from the Lord who is Spirit (i.e., “wind, breath, spirit, Spirit; see II Corinthians 3.18). The transformation is toward fullness, completeness, which is the nature of God. God is Fullness; Christ is the fullness of God.
When we grow in the Spirit, into the fullness of Christ, we do not become less human. We become more human. We do not deny ourselves as much as progressively experience the fulfillment of our deepest longings and enjoy the forfeiture of the expenditure of energy, time, and money on what promised fulfillment but left our ardent, heartful aspirations yearning, still. In losing our lives, we find our True Selves, in and through Christ.
Spiritual Exercise
1. In what ways are you becoming more like Christ?
2. Whom do you know who models for you growth into the fullness of Christ?
3. Look up the word “biotic”? What does it mean? How does it apply to spiritual formation?
Prayer
Grow me in You. Amen.
Brian's book of mystical love poetry, An Ache for Union, can be ordered through major bookdealers.
Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors
The People of the
United Methodist Church
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