Teresa Roberts's Blog - Posts Tagged "discipleship"
We are all becoming...the question is, becoming what?
Brother Lawrence – a famous theologian from the 17th Century – wrote a book about his relationship with God called “The Practice of the Presence of God.” One of the most-quoted passages from that book is as follows:
“We ought to propose to ourselves to become, in this life, the most perfect worshippers of God we can possibly be, as we hope to be through all eternity.”
We are all becoming something … the question we must ask ourselves is: What are we becoming?
The journey of this life is ultimately about the arrival at a set destination – eternity with God. You take a journey with a destination in mind, after all; otherwise why go on a journey in the first place? But a journey is in itself also an adventure. And along the way that journey takes us through a process of becoming.
But how do we gauge what we are becoming? How do we identify the influences in our lives that are forming and molding us into something different? How do we take hold of those things and make intentional choices toward the right destination?
I think the truth is that we never quite figure this out … and that’s OK, as long as we never stop trying.
Consider my father’s example …
Recently, our family gathered together to celebrate my father’s 82nd birthday. As we sat around the dinner table chatting, I asked my youngest brother for any advice he might give to my soon-to-be high school junior.
“What would you advise her about college, or a career, or just life in general?” I asked.
He laughed.
“When I was a junior in high school I stated that I was never going to be a pastor,” he said. Then he shrugged with a smirk.
His current occupation? A pastor at a church in Arizona.
This comment launched our table into a conversation about the journey of discovering what we wanted to be when we grew up. The best comment came from my dad who, after a 40-year career as a Mathematics professor, stated: “I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be!”
Aren’t we all?
I have been a professor for more than 15 years, but I’m still becoming a professor as I continue to grow into this role of teaching. I have been a wife and step-mom for nearly five years, but I’m still becoming a wife and mom as I learn about myself and the ones I love. I have been a follower of Christ since infancy and committed to Jesus more than 40 years ago, but I am still becoming a follower as I learn and grow, sin and repent, recommit and deepen my belief and love for Christ.
I’m still becoming. … Always.
What I have learned in this process is that I become more and more like that upon which I fix my attention. Who am I listening to? What am I reading? Where are my eyes fixed? Which path am I following?
We have all witnessed this process at some point in our lives. We have watched friends or children or colleagues or spouses fixate on something (or someone) and get drawn into the gravitational pull of becoming. How many young women are in the process of becoming like Taylor Swift? How many young men are in the process of becoming like Patrick Mahomes? How many adults scroll through social media and get drawn in by influencers, or fixated on certain political, social, or religious leaders?
One of my stories of becoming is represented by a hand-towel now stored in my memory box. The hand-towel was from the 1970s – the kind that would hang in bathrooms with someone’s name stitched on the front. But instead of the name “Teresa,” mine has “Karen” stitched onto it. According to my mother, when I was three years old I spent about six months refusing to respond to my birth name. Instead, I wanted to be Karen … as in Karen from the Mickey Mouse Club.
She wasn’t the last person upon whom I set my eyes. There are many memories of wanting to become like others – peers at school, mentors at church, or even people of influence from wider social circles. There are even a few whom I have never met but admired from afar. Amy Grant has always been my favorite musician because I grew up as a child of the 80s.
The point is, there are many people and things competing for our attention, and they all influence what we are becoming.
Consider a day in the life of your child or a child in your sphere of influence. Who are they becoming? Who do their eyes see? What do their ears here? What do their hands do? Where are their hearts set? What do they give attention to?
Every day we have an opportunity to consider who or what we are becoming. Through this introspective examination, we can identify what we are becoming. We can identify those things which grab our attention and distract us. We can also identify that which helps us to be more like Christ.
When we do the work of becoming more like Christ, we are in a better position to help others fix their eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1b-2a), listen to the words of God (Romans 10:17), put faith into action (James 1:22), give attention to the things of God (Philippians 4:8), and reflect on what is above (Colossians 3:2).
In Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi, he says, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12-14)
We are all in the process of becoming. The question is: What are you becoming? And how does your process of becoming lead others to also become more like Christ?
“We ought to propose to ourselves to become, in this life, the most perfect worshippers of God we can possibly be, as we hope to be through all eternity.”
We are all becoming something … the question we must ask ourselves is: What are we becoming?
The journey of this life is ultimately about the arrival at a set destination – eternity with God. You take a journey with a destination in mind, after all; otherwise why go on a journey in the first place? But a journey is in itself also an adventure. And along the way that journey takes us through a process of becoming.
But how do we gauge what we are becoming? How do we identify the influences in our lives that are forming and molding us into something different? How do we take hold of those things and make intentional choices toward the right destination?
I think the truth is that we never quite figure this out … and that’s OK, as long as we never stop trying.
Consider my father’s example …
Recently, our family gathered together to celebrate my father’s 82nd birthday. As we sat around the dinner table chatting, I asked my youngest brother for any advice he might give to my soon-to-be high school junior.
“What would you advise her about college, or a career, or just life in general?” I asked.
He laughed.
“When I was a junior in high school I stated that I was never going to be a pastor,” he said. Then he shrugged with a smirk.
His current occupation? A pastor at a church in Arizona.
This comment launched our table into a conversation about the journey of discovering what we wanted to be when we grew up. The best comment came from my dad who, after a 40-year career as a Mathematics professor, stated: “I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be!”
Aren’t we all?
I have been a professor for more than 15 years, but I’m still becoming a professor as I continue to grow into this role of teaching. I have been a wife and step-mom for nearly five years, but I’m still becoming a wife and mom as I learn about myself and the ones I love. I have been a follower of Christ since infancy and committed to Jesus more than 40 years ago, but I am still becoming a follower as I learn and grow, sin and repent, recommit and deepen my belief and love for Christ.
I’m still becoming. … Always.
What I have learned in this process is that I become more and more like that upon which I fix my attention. Who am I listening to? What am I reading? Where are my eyes fixed? Which path am I following?
We have all witnessed this process at some point in our lives. We have watched friends or children or colleagues or spouses fixate on something (or someone) and get drawn into the gravitational pull of becoming. How many young women are in the process of becoming like Taylor Swift? How many young men are in the process of becoming like Patrick Mahomes? How many adults scroll through social media and get drawn in by influencers, or fixated on certain political, social, or religious leaders?
One of my stories of becoming is represented by a hand-towel now stored in my memory box. The hand-towel was from the 1970s – the kind that would hang in bathrooms with someone’s name stitched on the front. But instead of the name “Teresa,” mine has “Karen” stitched onto it. According to my mother, when I was three years old I spent about six months refusing to respond to my birth name. Instead, I wanted to be Karen … as in Karen from the Mickey Mouse Club.
She wasn’t the last person upon whom I set my eyes. There are many memories of wanting to become like others – peers at school, mentors at church, or even people of influence from wider social circles. There are even a few whom I have never met but admired from afar. Amy Grant has always been my favorite musician because I grew up as a child of the 80s.
The point is, there are many people and things competing for our attention, and they all influence what we are becoming.
Consider a day in the life of your child or a child in your sphere of influence. Who are they becoming? Who do their eyes see? What do their ears here? What do their hands do? Where are their hearts set? What do they give attention to?
Every day we have an opportunity to consider who or what we are becoming. Through this introspective examination, we can identify what we are becoming. We can identify those things which grab our attention and distract us. We can also identify that which helps us to be more like Christ.
When we do the work of becoming more like Christ, we are in a better position to help others fix their eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1b-2a), listen to the words of God (Romans 10:17), put faith into action (James 1:22), give attention to the things of God (Philippians 4:8), and reflect on what is above (Colossians 3:2).
In Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi, he says, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12-14)
We are all in the process of becoming. The question is: What are you becoming? And how does your process of becoming lead others to also become more like Christ?
