The Slow Remaking of Character
Week One | The Purgative Way
There’s a great disparity inside me: a gap between my longing and my living. I don’t feel it all the time. But there are moments, usually at night when I’m tired or bored or disappointed—always when I’m angry—that it surfaces, gnawing and tearing at my deepest desire. In these moments I wonder if it is possible for that gap to be narrowed.
Can the life I want be the one I actually live?
When I read the longing of Thomas à Kempis in The Imitation of Christ, the angst of St. Augustine in his Confessions, or the intensity of Teresa of Ávila in The Interior Castle, I discover I’m not alone. I’m not alone in my longing for Christlikeness, I’m not alone in my inadequacy to produce it, and—most importantly—I’m not alone in finding a way forward.
None of us are.
Shedding vice and securing virtue—becoming like Christ—is not something that automatically happens when we become Christians. Moving from stage to stage happens over a long, frustrating, rewarding, painful, and glorious period of time.
Christlike character is not something we get; we grow into it.
Room to Reflect
What does “growing into Christlikeness” look like in this season of my life?
Who are the voices (living or dead) that remind me I’m not alone in this journey?
How can I make peace with the slow pace of spiritual growth, while still pressing on?
Many thanks Jonathan for all the reflection questions! I’m recording them into my book. This little gem is my #1 giveaway to people all the time. Just refilled my supply and also put a stack in my little church around the corner’s prayer room. I hit day 30 every month and then hit repeat. I write in it like a journal and when no more space is on the page, I get a fresh copy to begin again. Each one becomes a living journal, and I love sharing this with others! I give a small bow in gratitude and can’t wait for your full book to come out! No pressure🤣
Question 1 is tough to express in words. I like to live awake and aware of my life with God so that my responses hopefully arise from there. This is a starting point for more complex thoughts.
Question 2. The most constant saint’s voice for me is Dallas Willard. His first words to catch my attention made me realize he understood how people are ungodly; he was wise enough to describe their harming nature and then he moved on in his teachings. He consistently lived his faith.
And, as far as living souls who make me feel less alone in this journey, I am deeply grateful for you Jonathan. Everyday.
Question 3. Slow growth? No problem—at least there IS growth. And without slow growth, there is no growth. If it is too fast, there will be more backtracking and correcting. Maybe I have come to savor the sweetness of slow and steady.