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Do you have the guts to have a better vision for the world?

One of the values of the FEAST spiritual rhythm is Transformation. It is probably the hardest to visualize and the perhaps the most valuable for providing an overall framework for the way we see the world. It reads:

We are ambassadors who bear God’s image in the world; yet, we need to remind ourselves that God is already at work. We want to be accountable to paying attention and jumping in with God’s transformation of the places where we live, work, and play.

This is crucial. Being a follower of Jesus should radically reorient the way we see the world. It should give us eyes of transformation. Also, remember that we’re all in process on this journey and we won’t be perfect at this. We often won’t even be decent at it. But if we can remind ourselves of the importance of this vision-catching practice, we’ll find ourselves aligning with the Hopes and Dreams of the Creator & Lover of the world.

“Transformation” is actually an ancient practice. It can be easily traced back to the Prophets of the Old Testament, and even further back to men and women like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Rahab, and Ruth. People of history who were imperfect but dared to struggle with a better world, even if that vision was small.

I’m reminded of Abraham daring to break free from his heritage and trust enough to see the big picture, this promised “father” of an entire nation that would lead the Created world into better knowledge of the Creator. I also think about Prophets who stood up and were murdered for calling things like they were (sick, broken) and (sometimes oddly) casting images of God’s beauty and richness breaking forth.

“Transformation” is a prophetic-visioning experiment, and we’re all called to undertake it.

And it will take guts. It will take guts because, once you start seeing something the way God sees it, it’s painful to just let it slip away and not acting on it.

John the Baptist is evidence that acting on it will hurt. Jesus is evidence that acting on it will hurt. Paul is evidence that acting on it will hurt.

Where ever you are today, ask yourself “How is the transformation of God working in this place?”