Through the Lens of Grace: Spiritual Formation Towards Christlikeness in a Holiness Context

Abstract

To see life through the lens of grace is to gain a new perspective of how God shapes his children in the image of his Son. Spiritual formation is a process, a journey with God’s people, which calls for faith and participation, but all is of grace. This portfolio testifies to spiritual formation being God’s work. Though our involvement in spiritual disciplines and the nurturing of the Christian community are indispensable, they too are means of grace.

The journey of spiritual formation for the individual Christian within the community of faith is explained in the writings of A.W. Tozer as well as the Model of Spiritual Formation in The Salvation Army. The goal is Christlikeness, a goal which requires adversity and suffering to deepen our faith and further our witness. Interviews with eight Salvationists on adversity and suffering in their lives underscore the themes of grace and faith. My spiritual autobiography is a personal witness that faith is enriched through God’s means of grace, most certainly through life’s challenges. To be like Jesus is the ultimate goal, the divine purpose for which we were created and the means by which we serve.