Formed for the Glory of God: Learning from the Spiritual Practices of Jonathan Edwards

by Kyle Strobel

The term spiritual discipline is a well-meaning term put in a very unfortunate way. If we simply play out the natural meaning of the terms spiritual and discipline, we would come to the popular conclusion that doing spiritual disciplines is how we discipline our spiritual lives. In other words, the term discipline makes people think they have the power to form their spiritual life. Rather than being an extension of salvation, we end up with an advanced form of self-help. Just do such-and-such discipline and your life will be better. If you do X, you will stop struggling with Y. There is no doubt why this phrase has become so popular: it addresses our greatest temptation as North American evangelicals. We love believing that we control our fate, and we want the same for our spiritual lives. We want to be self-made people. “Just tell me what to do and I’ll make it happen.” This is the idolatry of a pragmatic people desiring independence at every turn. The call to be holy, however, is not the same as a call to do the right thing. Holiness is a term that describes God’s own life, and therefore the call to be holy is a call to participate in God’s life of love.