“..for the Benefit of Others”

I was reminded today of a book I read last year called “Invitation to a Journey” by M. Robert Mulholland Jr. The premise of the book is that God invites us on a journey of growth towards Christlikeness. We are transformed, at the point of our salvation, from sinful beings living under condemnation to righteous children of God. That, however, is not the end of the process. God desires to work in our lives bringing about healing and restoration in our inmost being. So, having saved us, He then issues us an invitation to join Him as He molds and shapes us and restores us to the glorious image He desires for us.

The point that has been floating around in my head for the past few hours, however, was brought to my mind by the pastor at the church that I attend. During his sermon he spoke of the purpose for which we are transformed; that purpose being so that we can assist others to receive what we have received, i.e. a saving relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Mulholland, in his book, also took this position, although he did not come at it from as strictly an evangelistic viewpoint as the pastor. He (Mulholland) purports that all sanctification/transformation, call it what you will, is a demonstration of God’s love for us but that our healing, or transformation, is also intended for the benefit of others. Basically, God provides for our salvation and then follows it up with a process that brings about healing and growth in our lives. But, if we treat the process as if it stops with us we are not seeing the full picture. God desires that we move beyond ourselves and use our renewed, redeemed selves to administer His grace, love, and healing/restoration to others.

I was glad of this reminder today as the process of self examination and gaining of self knowledge that is part of the counseling process can distract us from moving forward. We can mistake a “yield” sign for a “stop” sign and grind to a premature halt, thus coming up short and not experiencing all of that to which God has called us. In the field of counseling, (secular and Christian) it is widely recognized that one of the indicators and outcomes of growth towards healing is when the client can take something bad and turn it into good by using his or her experience to help others. There is something tremendously empowering in this. Sounds redemptive to me. What a wise and loving Father we have! 

Born Free

Who are Your Heroes?

Recently, for a class at CIU, I was asked to identify and reflect on my heroes, past and present. This was a difficult task as no past hero came to mind at first. However, as I brought to mind the television and fantasy characters that I enjoyed as a child, one in particular stood out. I remember at the age of 6 or 7 being totally enthralled by the TV series “Born Free.” For those of you not familiar with this story it is based in Kenya, Africa on the life of Joy Adamson and her husband, Kenya game warden George Adamson. They rescued and raised a lion cub, Elsa, whose mother had been killed. When Elsa approached maturity, Joy determined she must re-educate Elsa to living in the wild so that the she could return to a free life, the life for which she was born.

I was drawn to Joy’s unwavering and sacrificial dedication to the welfare and freedom of the lion in her care. Week after week, I watched as she withstood adversity and danger to protect the lion cub, so that some day she could be free. Through many gripping moments Joy and her husband voluntarily put their lives on the line out of love for Elsa and out of a deeply held conviction to do what they believed was right. They could not be swayed.

Beginning

Ever have trouble getting something started? Well, that is how I feel about this blog…I registered about 5 days ago with the intentions of getting something on to it straight away….However, as is typical for most everything I do, I encountered a sense of reluctance to begin the process. This reluctance forms a theme for many aspects of my life. I was reluctant to commit my life to Christ, reluctant to go to college, reluctant to evaluate my life and deal with those issues that were holding me back. You would think that I would have learned by now that the good stuff only comes after I have put aside my reluctance and stepped out in faith!
Considering my life before and after coming into relationship with Christ (at 31 years of age…I was quite stubborn in my reluctance) there really is no comparison – it was the difference between feeling dead and feeling alive. God breathed life into the depths of my being where there had been hibernation, stagnation and lifelessness.