Spiritual Formation, a term long used by Catholics and other faith traditions, has only recently been used more widely by Baptists to refer to the process of deepening understanding and practice of one’s faith over a lifetime. Though we never used that term, it is what we focused on in BTU when I was a child in the 1950s and early ‘60s.
 
As a pastoral counselor, I see my work with persons, couples and families as one part of the process of spiritual formation. For me the work of self-care, of healing, of reconciliation to God, self and others, is not separate from coming to see God present and at work in all of life, in all of creation. Because the work is not separate, coming to love God and oneself, which naturally leads to loving others, is the same work.
 
I believe that each of us is made in the image of God. Each of us is a particular incarnation of the infinite, loving God. Our spiritual life invites us to find the ways that being who we are, using our gifts in the world, makes more of God’s graceful, loving, creative presence available in the world.
 
Unfortunately, life’s hurts, disappointments, guilts and fears often block our knowing and expressing ourselves as that image of God.
 
It is as if that image were a beautiful stained glass window that has become covered with mud.
 
It is the will of God that we know and express ourselves more and more as the clear image God created us to be. It is God’s work in us and our work in God to clean the mud off the glass so that the light shines through. We do this by addressing the hurts, disappointments, guilts and fears. We come to understand them, to heal, and let them go, level by level, and then we take responsibility for ourselves and our lives. We also are invited to discover our gifts and our joys and find ways to express those gifts and to live ever more fully into our joy. God is always working to guide us toward this richness of life in all its components, this freedom of expression and being.
 
It is important that we not try to do this work alone. We need loving community, trusted friends, and wise guides to hear us, to encourage us, to challenge us, to play with us. Indeed to embody God’s love, forgiveness, and grace to us as we also embody it to others.
 
When I am working with Christians, especially liberal protestants, I like to emphasize that the God in whose image we are created, is Trinity. As liberals we tend to over-identify with the Incarnation and think that acts of service are the holiest of acts. People sometimes believe, consciously or unconsciously, that the only way to show love of God is in service. Such service is often prompted by a desire to feel good enough or feel loved instead of as a natural expression of having received love. It often results in people burning out or becoming cynical and disillusioned. In my experience, every act of service needs to be balanced with an experience of creativity and one of nurture. Deeply enjoying music, art, nature, the richness of our senses is as much an expression of God in the world as working in a soup kitchen or speaking on behalf of justice.
 
As we engage this lifelong process, we discover that God is infinitely patient and infinitely persistent with us and continues this work in us even when we don’t attend to it, calling us to remember who we are as God’s Beloved.
 
It is the will of God that we know and express ourselves ever more fully, ever more completely as God’s own image. As we do, we become God’s presence, God’s love, God’s peace.