Spiritual Formation

Spiritual formation. What is it? Is it something to be pursued? The desktop background on my laptop is a beautiful painting of Jesus telling the Parable of the Two Debtors to Simon the Pharisee and his guests. The parable struck me when I was teaching Luke 7:36-47 to the youth at the Advent this summer (OK, OK.... there weren't many in the class. It was summertime. Don't do this to me.). The power of the Gospel is profoundly communicated in the agony and surrender of the prostitute together with Christ's free offer of forgiveness. Her eyes were completely on Christ and His merit. They were utterly NOT on how her quiet time has been going this last 45 seconds.

It seems to me that this is spiritual formation. Like Gerhard Forde said "Sanctification is the process of getting used to justification." In order for there to be any "getting better", there must be a continual death to the Old Adam. What a beautiful picture. At the feet of the Savior in tears.