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Over the next few weeks, follow this series of posts about WCF’s call to spiritual formation and its importance in our community life together. Catch up on our previous post here.

Matt 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

When Jesus made this invitation in Matthew 11:28-30, he was speaking to a people who felt overwhelmed not just by the state of their nation, but also by the state of their religious practices. The Torah had become a burden to carry, rather than a gift that gave life. Jesus was inviting them to a new way of orienting their lives in light of this new Kingdom he was introducing.

In our information-driven culture, we are often rewarded for the knowledge we have with degrees and awards and dollars in the form of clicks and pay-checks. But a relationship with the God of love involves formation, not just information. Yes, we do learn more about God and about what God’s kingdom is like. We learn how to let Jesus take the lead. But ultimately, life with God is about a relationship - a relationship with our Creator, who made us and who knows us better than we know ourselves. It’s a relationship where we are formed into the likeness of the most complete human being, Jesus. Because in becoming more like Jesus, we find ourselves becoming more our true selves, as God intended. This is a process of formation, not information.  

When we approach a relationship with God as information-gathering, the focus is on us and on our control and our agency. We are both the subjects and the objects. We ask questions like, “What am I learning? How am I growing? What have I demonstrated more mastery over?” All good questions, of course. But when we approach our relationship with God as formation, the focus shifts to God and what God is revealing to us in the person and work of Jesus. God becomes the object of our attention and we are the subjects being shaped by the tender hands of the God of love. In formation, we ask questions like, “What is God teaching me? How is God forming me? What evidence is there of God’s increasing mastery over my life?” 

Where information-gathering can be an individualistic endeavor, formation inherently requires an “other.” Jesus is the primary Other we are formed by. But just as important in recognizing God’s forming work in our lives is how it takes place through our gathering with other fellow Jesus-apprentices. 

As we all seek to be formed further into God’s image, consider how fellow Jesus-followers help you ask the important questions of formation above? What environments are you gathering regularly in where that can take place?

Got a question? We’d love to hear from you at elders@wcfchurch.org. 

Next post: Practices, not Positions, Policies & Propositions