Spiritual FormationThere is a hidden dimension to every human life, one not visible to others or fully graspable even by ourselves. This is God's gift to us in creation, that we might have the space to become the persons we choose to be. From here we manage our lives as best we can, utilizing whatever resources of understanding, emotion, and circumstance are available. It is here we stand before God and our conscience. This hidden dimension of the self is commonly thought of in spatial terms—as the "within" or "insides" or "depth" of the person or self. Such language expresses the fact that it is hidden and that it is foundational. The heart, soul, mind, feelings, and intentions lie in this area, and these make up the true character of the person: who that person is and what they can be counted on to do. Within the invisible dimension of the person, and right at its conscious center lies the human spirit. "God is Spirit," the creative will that creates and governs the universe, and "spirit" is the creative element in human nature, the "image of God in man." The human spirit is primarily what we today call "will," the capacity of choice and resolution, and what biblically and traditionally is called "heart." It is the radical source of our life: of the stream of actions and influences and contributions we make to our shared, visible world and its history. Spiritual formation, without regard to any specifically religious context or tradition, is the process by which the human spirit or will is given a definite form, or character. Make no mistake, it is a process that happens to everyone. The most despicable as well as the most admirable of persons have had a spiritual formation. Their spirits or hearts have been formed. We all become a certain kind of person, gain a specific character, and that is the outcome of the process of spiritual formation understood in general human terms. Fortunate or blesses are those who are able to find or are given a path of life that will form their spirit and inner world in a way that is truly strong and good. From The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus's Essential Teachings on Discipleship. Copyright © 2006 by Dallas Willard. All rights reserved. Used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers. |
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