“..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!