We Are Being Formed
We are being formed, whether we like it or not. This statement isn't necessarily groundbreaking. When we step back and look at our lives we start to realize that the person we are today was shaped and formed by the decisions we have made and the influences that have been around us. I don't think that anyone reading this would even start to argue with that thought. The problem for most of us though is that we aren't necessarily all that intentional about being formed.
A few weeks back I preached a sermon on the intentional father. We looked at what it means to form our children as parents. The crux of the message was that as parents we are forming our children with the decisions we make. The same is true for ourselves as well. The decisions we make on a day-to-day basis are forming us, either into the likeness of God or more like the World. If we are not intentional we are not going to be made more into the image of God. We must be intentional.
That begs the question of what can I do to be formed into the image of God? From what I have been studying and learning recently it seems as though for me it will come down to the choices I make. Will I choose to binge the latest must-see tv show there is or will I take that time to spend with God in meditation, prayer, study, or worship? Will I choose to spend hours scrolling on my phone or will I take that time to spend with my family and grow in our relationship with Christ? Will I choose to prioritize my job or hobby over time with my church family?
You see it is estimated that we make around 35,000 decisions a day. Yes, you read that right, 35,000 decisions a day. That is hard to wrap around. What is even harder to fathom is how each of those decisions affects us. You see when we make a small decision like choosing to scroll for another 5 minutes it doesn't seem like that big of a deal. But when we make that same decision regularly it starts to add up. Before we know it we are addicted to whatever we are doing and have such a hard time saying no.
Each decision is going to either draw us closer to God and what he has called us to be or further away from him. The examples I gave above are all choices that I can make daily. Some of those choices will draw me closer to Him and some will draw me closer to the World. The decision is up to me.
If we are not intentional we are going to choose whatever will make us feel better in the moment, even if it will be worse for us in the long run. So we have to learn to be intentional in the decisions we make. So take some time this week to look at the decisions you are making and ask if they are drawing you closer to God or closer to the World. Our decisions are forming us, whether we like it or not.
Joel Harper
