Spiritual Formation In Biblical Times

Spiritual formation can be an overwhelming process. As the Lord begins to mold us and shape us into His image, the process takes us out of our comfort zone, and pushes us to live by blind faith. It is a process that brings forth a lot of tears, frustration, pruning, and sadness. The process can be extreme, but it births true happiness, joy, servanthood, and the authentic person we were created to be. This paper will discuss reconciliation, transformation process, spiritual formation in the biblical times, as well as modern times. Two stories that come to mind when discussing reconciliation and transformation during biblical times are Saul’s conversion to Paul in Acts 9, and Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8. The story of Saul’s conversion to Paul is the perfect example of God’s forgiveness, and Him reconciling Saul back to Him. God did not give up on him, even though he slaughtered hundreds of Christians. God transformed Saul by changing his name to Paul, but gifted him a spot in His army and he earned the title Apostle Paul. The story of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch proves that God never leaves us, when we venture off track; He is just waiting for us to make the decision to come back to Him. The Ethiopian Eunuch was curious, he believed the …show more content…
Furthermore, the individual has to embrace change, and the willingness to let of go of things that will not benefit them in the future plans the Lord has for them. Apostle Paul goal regarding spiritual formation was “not solely the salvation of individuals, but the resocialization of the converts by providing them with a new self-designation, a demarcation between insiders and outsiders, a social dialect that would distinguish them from other groups, and a new way of life” (Akerlund, 2016, p.22). When we choose Christ we are choosing a new life. A life that we never knew, but it is the life we were created to