Spiritual formation in a Christian tradition answers a specific human question: 'What kind of person am I going to be?' It is the process of establishing the character of Christ in the person. That's all it is.
Interpretation
Spiritual formation shapes one's character to reflect the values of Christ.
This quote by Dallas Willard emphasizes the essence of spiritual formation within the Christian context, highlighting its purpose in answering fundamental questions about one’s identity and character. It suggests that the goal of this process is to cultivate traits that mirror those of Christ, ultimately leading to personal transformation and a deeper understanding of one's spiritual journey.
In practice
During a church seminar on personal growth, this quote can inspire discussions about developing Christ-like characteristics.
The greatest issue facing the world today, with all its heartbreaking needs, is whether those who, by profession or culture, are identified as ‘Christians’ will become disciples – students, apprentices, practitioners – of Jesus Christ, steadily learning from him how to live the life of the Kingdom of the Heavens into every corner of human existence.
The first act of love is always the giving of attention.
So many people would like to have guidance from God because obviously, if you have a word from God, it's the best possible thing. But they don't relate that to life as a whole. Often they want guidance as a way of opting out of the responsibility of making decisions.
What is truly profound is thought to be stupid and trivial, or worse, boring, while what is actually stupid and trivial is thought to be profound. That is what it means to fly upside down.
The basic question 'will I obey Christ 's teaching?' is rarely taken as a serious issue. For example, to take one of Jesus' commands, that is relevant to contemporary life, I don't know of any church that actually teaches a church how to bless people who curse them, yet this is a clear command.
When I left home after graduating high school, I left as a migrant agricultural worker with a Modern Library edition of Plato in my duffel bag. It sounds kind of crazy, but I loved it. I loved the stuff. Before I knew there was a subject called philosophy, I loved it.
Arrakis teaches the attitude of the knife - chopping off what's incomplete and saying: "Now it's complete because it's ended here."
For the majority of us, the past is a regret, the future an experiment
I tore up and ate my own passport in an airport hotel once. I'm bloated with language I can’t afford to forget.
I am concerned with only one thing, the moral and social conditions of my generation.
Although our prospect is peace, our policy and purpose are to provide for defense by all those means to which our resources are competent.
Even if one is neither vain nor self-obsessed, it is so extraordinary to be oneself - exactly oneself and no one else - and so unique, that it seems natural that one should also be unique for someone else.
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