Reader,

Spiritual work is always experiential: if you want to grow, you must be willing to try new things.

This reality is often uncomfortable. We'd rather take an academic approach — pick up a new book, perhaps, or listen to a sermon from one of our favorite preachers. There's obviously nothing wrong with books or sermons, but if that's all we do to grow, we're going to be sorely disappointed.

My mentor Jack often reminded me that "education does not result in transformation." It's useful, but it won't effectively change or grow your inner being. If it did, the smartest and most-informed people would be the best people. Last I checked, that's not true. We all know people who believe all the right things, have libraries full of the right books, and yet are still colossal jerks.

If we want to become more Christlike — if we want to become men and women of substance — we need to take risks, grow our tolerance for discomfort, and practice new ways of being in the world. That's what Jesus was talking about when he invited us to deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow him (Matthew 16:24-26).

"But wait," you might say, "I thought the Christian faith was all about grace?" You're right. It is. As Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians, "it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Here's the thing: grace may be a gift, but that doesn't mean we're supposed to sit our hands and just wait for our lives to change. As Dallas Willard taught, grace is not opposed to effort. It's why Paul instructed the Philippians (and us!) to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12).

In short, we are invited into the process of becoming the people God created us to be. Our call is to roll up our sleeves and practice wholeness by integrating the four parts of our spiritual anatomy.

There are four characteristics of this transformational pathway:

• it is an inward path
• it is a cyclical path
• it is a transcendent path
• it is an eternal path

Over the next few weeks, we'll explore what those characteristics mean — not just intellectually but on a practical level.

As Paul indicates ("fear and trembling"), this path isn't comfortable. But it is good, and I hope that you will see that. It's worth the effort. You are the worth the effort. It's why I always end these letters with three reminders:

You are loved.

I am for you.

You've got this.

Jake

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