Beholding is becoming

There has been, over the past couple of years, a study for and an appreciation of the whole concept of "beholding is becoming" in light of our sanctification as believers. Two books in particular brought this idea home to my head and my heart: One Thing by Sam Storms and God is the Gospel by John Piper. Essentially, this concept suggests that the way become Christ-like is through the beholding of Christ.

There is a rule of the soul that we become what we worship. That thing that captures our affection and admiration is that thing which we, willingly or not, aspire to become like. In terms of Christ, it follows that if we who have the Spirit in us behold him then we will worship him. And in worshiping him we will become like him. The Scripture passage which is not alone in its declaration of this truth but is most often cited is from 2 Corinthians 3; verse 18 reads, "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." Our beholding the glory of Christ is the effectual antecedent to our transformation into his image.

This morning in my devotional reading of Christ Crucified: The Marrow of the Gospel in 72 Sermons on Isaiah 53 by James Durham, I came across the following quote:

The reason why we press you to this [the study of Christ and his works] , is, not only that you may have more clear theory and contemplation, but also, and mainly, that your affections may be delighted in him, and that your faith may, without hink [scruple] or hesitation, come to give him credit...there is no study more pleasant, more precious, and more profitable. (218)

Durham is imploring the reader to study-an intense beholding as it were-Christ and his works resulting in a clear understanding of the doctrinal distinctives pertain to the Son of God as well as causing one's affections for Christ to be raised. This raising of our affections is nothing less than an ascribing to and recognition  of the worth of Christ, or, a worshiping of him. Which leads, via the Spirit, our transformation.

Make it a regular habit of yours to behold the Son; you will become more like him.

Enjoying more

The essence of loving living as a follower of Jesus isn't in trying harder but in enjoying more. I'm not saying you can change without trying. I'm saying that enjoyment empowers effort. Pleasure in God is the power for purity.

- Sam Storms, One Thing

Fruitless joys

Fruitless joys are what we turn to when life is boring and gray and lonely and we know that tomorrow nothing will have changed. Fruitless joys aren't necessarily scandalous sins. They may be little more than harmless hobbies in which we invest countless hours to make life a little less dull. They may be the newest gadgets we work so hard to own and worry about losing. They may be the fantasies and daydreams that swirl around in our heads that we know will never come true but somehow strangely bring a measure of excitement to an otherwise dreary life ... Fruitless joys don't transmute of their own accord into pain and discomfort and ugliness. They will lose their grip on your soul only when they are displaced by greater joys, more pleasing joys, joys that satisfy not for the moment but forever." (Storms, C. Samuel. One Thing: Developing a Passion for the Beauty of God. Fearn, Ross-Shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2004.p137,139)

Here is another excerpt from One Thing (Storms, C. Samuel. One Thing: Developing a Passion for the Beauty of God. Fearn, Ross-Shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2004.). This is, to me, a compelling argument and one that flies in the face of the practices, in general, of my denomination. This truth, for me, has been reinvigorating and reviving in my walk. I hope it does the same for you.

I earlier spoke of the relationship between celebration and elevation or between exultation and exaltation and argued that the former in each case is both a prelude to and grounds for the latter. There is, however, one additional stage in our experience that is antecedent to both exultation and exaltation, namely, education.

If we don't know who God is and how he thinks and what he feels and why he does what he does, we have no grounds for joy, no reason to celebrate, no basis for finding satisfaction in him ...

Delight in God cannot occur in an intellectual vacuum. Our joy is the fruit of what we know and believe to be true of God. Emotional heat such as joy, delight, and gladness of heart, apart from intellectual light (i.e. the knowledge of God) is useless. Worse still it is dangerous, for it inevitably leads to fanaticism and idolatry. The experience of heaven’s inhabitants confirms that our knowledge of God (education) is the cause or grounds for our delight in him (exultation), which blossoms in the fruit of his praise and honor and glory (exaltation).

What this tells us is that the ultimate goal of theology isn’t knowledge, but worship. If our learning and knowledge of God do not lead to joyful praise of God, we have failed. We learn only that we might laud, which is to say that theology without doxology is idolatry. The only theology worth studying is a theology that can be sung! (81-2)

Beauty

"God's relevatory manifestation of himself in creation, in providence, in Scripture, and pre-eminently in the face of his Son, Jesus Christ, is designed to evoke within the breath-taking delight and incomparable joy of which God alone is worthy. Beauty is that in God which makes him eminently desirable and attractive and quickens in the soul a realization that it was made for a different world." (Storms, C. Samuel. One Thing: Developing a Passion for the Beauty of God. Fearn, Ross-Shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2004. Print.p53)

Bored?

According to Sam Storms, in his book One Thing (Storms, C. Samuel. One Thing: Developing a Passion for the Beauty of God. Fearn, Ross-Shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2004. Print.), we were created for happiness. But we don't always "get" that concept.

"Many Christians today are horribly out of touch with this truth. They aren't resistant to joy, but they're more than a little suspicious of it. The problem is that they are oblivious to the beauty of God. Worse than that, they're bored. God is real to them. They're not atheists. He just isn't relevant. Far less is he cause for celebration. That's why when life is hard and disillusionment sets in, God isn't the first thing to enter their minds (if they think of him at all). Many instinctively turn to whatever will anesthetize their pain or bring a spark to their souls.

The reason for this isn't hard to see. The human soul wasn't created for boredom. We were shaped by God for the excitement that the revelation of his glory induces. We were fashioned for the happiness that the sweetness of Christ's tender mercies alone can impart. That doesn't sound boring to me!" (14)