Dont Change Yourself - Let God Do It.

"Make every effort to add... to your knowledge self-control" (2 Pt 1:5-6). The effort that Peter speaks of here is not a strenuous exertion but a firm intention to maintain a Godward gaze. By this means we learn to "hold on to the good and avoid every kind of evil" (1 Thes 5:21-22; see Romans 12.9). The mistake we usually make is trying to change ourselves—but that approach is doomed to failure. Instead, we must allow ourselves to changed. The secret is to do this through the "passive activity" described in 2 Corinthians 3:18: “reflect the Lord's glory, being transformed into his likeness, with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."

The glory of Christ that we must mirror is in our character; hence we can substitute the word character for glory in Paul's statement. We must let the Spirit change us, almost in spite of ourselves, to mirror Christ's character to those around us. To open ourselves to this transformation, we must make Jesus our constant companion. Even five minutes in a heart-to-heart encounter with him will transform our entire day; it will change our thoughts and feelings, and enable us to do things for him that we would never have attempted otherwise. Conscious of the presence of Jesus, we become docile to his teaching, as he instructs us to be more charitable, patient, and "meek and humble of heart" (Mt 11:29). We catch the spirit as his character is mirrored more and more in our behavior.

If Christians were determined enough to reject contaminating influences and let their thoughts become totally Christ-patterned, this corrupt world could become a Garden of Eden right now! We Christians could tip the scales and lift the world to a new high, in spite of the negative thoughts of others around us. But this cannot happen unless we habitually direct our thoughts (which affect our actions) to Christlike ideals rather than to worldly ones.

This excerpt is from the book The Art of Loving God by John H. Hampsch, C.M.F., originally published by Servant Publications, 1995. This and other of Fr. Hampsch's books and audio/visual materials can be purchased from Claretian Teaching Ministry, 20610 Manhattan Pl, #120, Torrance, CA 90501-1863. Phone 1-310-782-6408.