Pursuing our Destiny, Part 5—The Work of Transformation

Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths.  Rather train your self for godliness; (1 Timothy 4:7, ESV; emphasis added)

In his book, The Spirit of the Disciplines, the late Dallas Willard makes the case that we must live like Jesus if we’re going to look like Jesus.  He calls all believers to a fresh understanding of what Jesus meant when he invited us to walk with him in what Willard calls “the secret of the easy yoke.”  Do you remember Jesus’ words?  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Mt. 11:29&30, ESV).

To live out our destiny, i.e., to become living icons of Jesus (Romans 8:29) requires the training the Apostle Paul advocated in 1 Timothy 4:7.  The training needed is the training Jesus offers in the invitation to “the easy yoke.”  Willard defines it this way: The secret of the easy yoke . . . is to learn from Christ how to live our total lives, how to invest all our time and our energies of mind and body as he did . . .. We have to discover how to enter into his disciplines from where we stand today—and no doubt, how to extend and amplify them to suit our needy cases. 

Choosing to “train ourselves for godliness” calls us to look at Jesus’ life.  How did he prepare for ministry?  How did he maintain his spiritual vitality while facing the demands of needy people and the attacks of the religious leaders of his day? How did he thwart every trick of the Evil One, even when those tricks came unexpectedly?  How was he always prepared?  Don’t make the mistake of attributing his success to his deity!  Remember: the writer of Hebrews tells us that he was tested just like all of us (Hebrews 4:15).  Jesus lived in a body of flesh and blood and did so without sin.  How did he do it?

Dr. Willard makes the case that Jesus being “the unique Son of God didn’t relieve him of the necessity of a life of preparation that was mainly spent out of the public eye.”  Simply put, Jesus trained himself for godliness!

G. K. Chesterton once said, “Christianity has not so much been tried and found wanting, as it has been found difficult and left untried.”  I invite you to consider the disciplines of abstinence (solitude, silence, fasting, frugality, chastity, secrecy, and sacrifice) and engagement (study, worship, celebration, service, prayer, fellowship, confession, and submission) that will aid in our transformation into the image of Christ.

Choosing to live in the “easy yoke,” practicing the same disciplines Jesus practiced, coupled with the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, will make us look increasingly like Jesus.  May God help us live in the yoke! – Pastor John Strain recently retired from First Baptist Toms River and is available for pulpit supply

Daily Bible Reading: Jeremiah 34-36; Matthew 26:51-75

Quote of the day: God prefers fruits of the Spirit over religious nuts. – Adrian Rogers

Verse to Memorize: Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live, and let me not be put to shame in my hope! Hold me up, that I may be safe and have regard for your statutes continually! Psalm 119:116-117 ESV