Character Transformation: How Does It Happen?

Dallas Willard makes this statement in The Great Omission,

Generally expressed, baptism in the Spirit, spiritual experiences, high acts of worship, and other experiences of worship do not transform character. They just don't do it. I am one who has had glorious experiences, and who owes much to them. They have a special role in the spiritual life....They have meant a lot to me, but they have not transformed my character.

....Character is formed through action, and it is transformed through action, including carefully planned and grace-sustained disciplines. To enter the path of obedience to Jesus Christ...is the true path of spiritual transformation.

If Willard is right, and I think he probably is in most cases, character transformation is a process of right decision making -- and not an easy process. Pursuing the spiritual disciplines is all about transforming our character into the likeness of Christ. I am inclined to believe that spiritual experiences can inspire, strengthen, motivate, encourage and empower us to make the right choices — to chose the pathway of the Cross — and this is one of the key reasons we must stay in close relationship with Him. His grace is sufficient and it is available, but we often walk too far away from Him to garner the full benefits of it.

I am discovering that I can pray with my children and I can have my children pray, but at the end of the day if they have a stinking attitude, they have to make a decision to change that attitude. That decision may include prayer (and I believe it becomes a lot easier to change a stinking attitude when we involve God in the process), but it is precipitated by an expression of will on their part.

We too often divorce the act of choosing to walk the challenging path of Christ daily from the high experience of a spiritual encounter. This is wrong. Both are needed.