Transformative Contemplation: Aligning with God's Character

 

Summary

In our journey of faith, we often find ourselves grappling with the challenge of transformation. We know who God is—compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love and faithfulness. Yet, despite our insights and genuine desires, we struggle to embody these divine attributes consistently. This struggle is not due to a lack of knowledge or intention but because transformation requires more than just willpower or insight. It involves a deep, internal change that aligns our inner selves with the character of God.

The journey from explicit knowledge to internal transformation is a sacred mystery, a cooperative process between us and the Holy Spirit. It is not a formulaic path but one that requires contemplation—a deep, intentional focus on God. As Augustine wisely noted, "Without Him, we can't; without us, He won't." This highlights the necessity of our active participation in the transformative work of the Spirit.

Contemplation, as described by Paul in his letters, is about directing the inner gaze of our hearts upon God. It is more than a mental exercise; it is a whole-person act of looking at the beauty of who God is. This act of contemplation, or beholding, allows us to be transformed into the image of God. It involves practices like meditation on Scripture, lectio divina, and imaginative prayer, which help us to focus our attention on God and open ourselves to His transformative work.

In our fast-paced, achievement-oriented culture, creating space for contemplation can be challenging. We are often distracted by the noise and busyness of life, which can numb the deeper pains of our souls. However, by retraining our minds to slow down and pay attention, we can create the space needed for the Holy Spirit to work within us. This process is not easy, but it is essential for experiencing the love of God in a way that transforms us into people of love.

Key Takeaways:

- Transformation requires more than insight or willpower; it involves a deep, internal change that aligns us with God's character. This process is a cooperative effort between us and the Holy Spirit, requiring our active participation. [05:25]

- Contemplation is a powerful practice that involves directing the inner gaze of our hearts upon God. It is a whole-person act that allows us to be transformed into the image of God. [10:44]

- Our culture's fast-paced, achievement-oriented nature can hinder our ability to contemplate and experience God's love. We must intentionally create space for contemplation by slowing down and paying attention. [33:24]

- Practices like meditation on Scripture, lectio divina, and imaginative prayer help us focus our attention on God and open ourselves to His transformative work. These practices are doorways into a state of contemplation. [17:20]

- Retraining our minds to pay attention is essential for experiencing the love of God in a transformative way. This involves developing the capacity for attention and aiming it at the beauty of who God is. [36:34]

Youtube Chapters:

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:05] - Discovering the Real God
[01:51] - Limitations of Insight and Willpower
[03:20] - The Struggle for Transformation
[05:25] - Cooperation with the Holy Spirit
[06:10] - The Role of Contemplation
[07:14] - The Power of Attention
[09:57] - Becoming What We Behold
[12:27] - Gazing with the Heart
[13:25] - Practical Ways to Contemplate
[16:20] - Doorways to Contemplation
[18:03] - Meditation and Scripture
[21:29] - Imaginative Prayer
[27:09] - Corporate Worship and Nature
[33:24] - Challenges of Modern Culture
[36:34] - Retraining Our Minds

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
1. 2 Corinthians 3:18 - "And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."
2. Romans 12:2 - "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
3. Ephesians 1:18 - "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people."

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Observation Questions:

1. According to the sermon, what is the role of contemplation in the process of transformation? [06:10]

2. How does the sermon describe the limitations of insight and willpower in achieving personal transformation? [01:51]

3. What are some of the practices mentioned in the sermon that can help us focus our attention on God? [17:20]

4. How does the sermon suggest our culture's fast-paced nature affects our ability to contemplate and experience God's love? [33:24]

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Interpretation Questions:

1. What does it mean to "direct the inner gaze of our hearts upon God," and how might this practice lead to transformation? [10:44]

2. How does the sermon explain the cooperative process between us and the Holy Spirit in achieving transformation? [05:25]

3. In what ways does the sermon suggest that our attention shapes who we become, and how does this relate to the concept of neuroplasticity? [07:14]

4. How might the practices of meditation on Scripture, lectio divina, and imaginative prayer serve as doorways into a state of contemplation? [17:20]

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Application Questions:

1. Reflect on your current pace of life. How might it be hindering your ability to create space for contemplation and experience God's love? What changes can you make to slow down and pay attention? [33:24]

2. Consider a time when you relied solely on insight or willpower for transformation. What was the outcome, and how might incorporating contemplation and the Holy Spirit's guidance have changed the experience? [01:51]

3. Identify one practice (meditation on Scripture, lectio divina, or imaginative prayer) that you are not currently engaging in. How can you incorporate this practice into your routine this week to focus your attention on God? [17:20]

4. Think about a specific area in your life where you struggle to embody God's character. How can you actively participate with the Holy Spirit in transforming this area? [05:25]

5. What distractions in your life are preventing you from contemplating God? How can you minimize these distractions to enhance your spiritual growth? [36:34]

6. How can you use the concept of "gazing with the heart" to deepen your relationship with God this week? What specific steps will you take to practice this? [12:27]

7. Reflect on a recent experience where you felt God's love in a transformative way. How can you create more opportunities for such experiences in your daily life? [35:59]

Devotional

Day 1: Transformation as a Cooperative Journey
Transformation requires more than insight or willpower; it involves a deep, internal change that aligns us with God's character. This process is a cooperative effort between us and the Holy Spirit, requiring our active participation. The journey from explicit knowledge to internal transformation is a sacred mystery, a cooperative process between us and the Holy Spirit. It is not a formulaic path but one that requires contemplation—a deep, intentional focus on God. As Augustine wisely noted, "Without Him, we can't; without us, He won't." This highlights the necessity of our active participation in the transformative work of the Spirit. [05:25]

Ephesians 4:22-24 (ESV): "To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you feel resistant to change? How can you invite the Holy Spirit to work with you in this area today?


Day 2: The Power of Contemplation
Contemplation is a powerful practice that involves directing the inner gaze of our hearts upon God. It is a whole-person act that allows us to be transformed into the image of God. Contemplation, as described by Paul in his letters, is about directing the inner gaze of our hearts upon God. It is more than a mental exercise; it is a whole-person act of looking at the beauty of who God is. This act of contemplation, or beholding, allows us to be transformed into the image of God. It involves practices like meditation on Scripture, lectio divina, and imaginative prayer, which help us to focus our attention on God and open ourselves to His transformative work. [10:44]

2 Corinthians 3:18 (ESV): "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."

Reflection: How can you incorporate a practice of contemplation into your daily routine this week? What specific time and place will you set aside for this practice?


Day 3: Creating Space in a Busy World
Our culture's fast-paced, achievement-oriented nature can hinder our ability to contemplate and experience God's love. We must intentionally create space for contemplation by slowing down and paying attention. In our fast-paced, achievement-oriented culture, creating space for contemplation can be challenging. We are often distracted by the noise and busyness of life, which can numb the deeper pains of our souls. However, by retraining our minds to slow down and pay attention, we can create the space needed for the Holy Spirit to work within us. This process is not easy, but it is essential for experiencing the love of God in a way that transforms us into people of love. [33:24]

Psalm 46:10 (ESV): "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"

Reflection: What is one practical step you can take today to slow down and create space for God in your life? How can you make this a regular habit?


Day 4: Doorways to Contemplation
Practices like meditation on Scripture, lectio divina, and imaginative prayer help us focus our attention on God and open ourselves to His transformative work. These practices are doorways into a state of contemplation. Engaging in these practices allows us to focus our attention on God and open ourselves to His transformative work. By meditating on Scripture, practicing lectio divina, and engaging in imaginative prayer, we create opportunities to encounter God in a deep and personal way. These practices serve as doorways into a state of contemplation, where we can experience the presence and love of God more fully. [17:20]

Colossians 3:16 (ESV): "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God."

Reflection: Which contemplative practice resonates most with you? How can you incorporate it into your spiritual life this week?


Day 5: Retraining Our Minds for Transformation
Retraining our minds to pay attention is essential for experiencing the love of God in a transformative way. This involves developing the capacity for attention and aiming it at the beauty of who God is. In a world filled with distractions, retraining our minds to pay attention is essential for experiencing the love of God in a transformative way. This involves developing the capacity for attention and aiming it at the beauty of who God is. By intentionally focusing our thoughts and hearts on God, we open ourselves to His transformative work and allow His love to shape us into people of love. [36:34]

Romans 12:2 (ESV): "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

Reflection: What is one distraction you can eliminate from your life today to help you focus more on God? How will you ensure this change is sustainable?

Quotes



I have become increasingly aware of the dramatic limitations of insight and willpower to change us. You know, I think there's something really there's a lot of overlap between both kind of Evangelical Bible culture and like Millennial jenzy Tick Tock therapy culture and that both of them I think over Elevate the power of Insight. [00:02:00]

I am often judgmental and critical and perfectionistic and demanding and full of contempt and resentment I'm am quick to anger and impatient and easily agitated at times and it's not because I don't have insight into who God is and who I am made to be and it's not cuz I don't have genuine desire to be compassionate and gracious and slow to anger. [00:03:55]

Augustine in the fourth Century you know said something to the effect of without him we can't but without us he won't and that's just a way of saying what you just said that in our formation and our development as persons of compassion and Grace and ultimately of love God has a part and we have a part. [00:06:08]

What you give your attention to and that's one way to think about the mind is as directed attention in academic speak what you give your attention to what you look at in your mind's eye what you think about and you let feel your imagination and pass through your Consciousness in your field of mental Vision will shape at a deep level who you become as a person. [00:07:30]

Contemplation and that word sounds a bit esoteric sounds a bit technical now it sounds a bit like for introverted monk type of people and the word means different things to different thinkers at different times in church history for some of them it is that kind of high stage Monkish kind of state of prayer. [00:10:24]

I think about it through the lens of like there are doorways into that state and I write about three it's not an exhaustive list they're just three that are the most helpful to me personally so one would be meditation in the language of the scripture and I mean that more in like the sense of Psalm one Hebrew kind of meditation. [00:16:34]

Christian meditation is more about intentionally filling the mind and even gently fixing it upon some item of beauty truth and goodness now there's scriptural meditation where you do that with scripture you read scripture and you me memorization is one form of meditation you just turn it over and over and over in your mind. [00:18:24]

I have come to believe that the imagination is a key faculty in the human person that like all of the human person is capable of great good and of great evil and is capable of believing truth and believing lies you know youve all Harari probably the leading atheist of our day but argues that imagination is what separates humans from all the rest of the animal kingdom. [00:21:36]

Imagery does something and again I know just enough Neuroscience to be dangerous but it activates the left side of our brain it puts us more in touch with like an intuitive implicit relational knowledge of something which is why we're rarely moved reading a pure academic essay but even if it's about something that might be life-changing. [00:23:12]

We cannot help but be formed by our culture whether that's the culture of LA or wherever you call home or America or whatever Nation you are from or live in whether it's the culture of our church Community or our stream of the church you know evangelicalism that I don't think that word really means anything anymore. [00:33:31]

If we want to be able to contemplate God to behold God and to experience the love of God in such a way that we are again to quote from Todd Hall loved into people of love where the experience of the love of God not just head knowledge about the love of God not just reading books about the love of God. [00:35:19]

Albert Borgman who's a philosopher of media he's passed away now he wrote a lot about the impact of media television on the human person the modern person on our attention span and he writes a little bit about how part of the step back to Experiencing God is actually just retraining our brains to pay attention. [00:36:34]

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Transcript
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