Page 2 of 2The Four Components Of Change
The mind and the ideas and stories that are imbedded in it are the beginning place for change, but transformation involves three other components as well. We need the practice of the spiritual disciplines, which are designed to cure the soul, not earn merit in heaven. I am convinced that while we can change by renewing our mind and practicing disciplines on our own, we find deeper and more lasting change within a community. We need others to help us see who and whose we are.
The mind, the disciplines, and the community are foundational aspects of change, but the real change agent is the Holy Spirit. The Spirit leads us to Jesus, reveals the Father, exposes falsehood, offers correction, and gives us the needed encouragement that make growth and transformation possible. The Spirit helps us change our narratives by leading us into truth, enlightens us as we practice the disciplines, and binds us together in community. If not for the work of the Holy Spirit, transformation simply will not take place. But we must participate in this process. By serious reading and reflection, by practicing the spiritual exercises and by entering into community, we create the condition in which the Spirit can transform our character.
God, who has begun a good work in you, will bring it to completion. So move forward with the assurance that you can and will be changed, and as you change, those around you will see it and be inspired. May God change your mind, heart and life, and use you to change the world.
The article was adapted from The Good and Beautiful Life (IVP Books).
James Bryan Smith wrote this book out of the culmination of 25 years of learning from Richard Foster and Dallas Willard.
