How can our lives really change? How can we actually become good (and not only talk about being good)? Is deep transformation of our characters on this side of eternity even possible?
I was raised Charismatic/Pentecostal-Christian but the majority of my life often did not exhibit Christlikeness or actual trust in The One. But in the last 3 years, there were two things that have deeply affected my live and changed my priorities and my heart:
- Being in a small group in our church with a shared focus and goal of following Jesus and practicing His presence and His teachings
- Reading the book “The Divine Conspiracy” by Dallas Willard (and listening to sermons about topics of the book)
Much has been said about the striking outward similarity of the daily lives of professing Christians and non-Christians — and how we should actually expect to see something very different when we lead a life in accordance with God. Sadly, none of this has ever helped me to a) identify the many areas in my life where I effectively did not place my reliance upon Jesus and b) learn to put my trust in Jesus. What this book did for me — more than anything else — was to describe the beauty of God Himself, how well He has crafted this world in which we live, and what an extraordinary kind of life He has meant for us humans: a life in constant connectedness with Him, living out the life He would lead if He would live it here and now.
From my experience, this book is capable of producing faith in Jesus by displaying Him as the all-competent Master of Life which He really is. The core of the book (about two thirds) revolve around the Sermon on the Mount, the longest speech and the Master Lecture of Jesus. These core teachings given by the Son of God never made sense to me in its entirety until I read the interpretations given by Dallas Willard.
One word of caution: The first 50 to 100 pages are not that easy to read. On my first try at reading this book I stopped after about 50 pages because it felt too dry and it was not yet becoming clear what point Dallas Willard was trying to drive home. But if you give him the benefit of the doubt you will get to the gold — that is, to discovering Jesus and the abundant life that He has and is for everyone who puts their complete trust in Him.
One wonderful piece of news is that since a few months a translation in German has become available. That has made it even more accessible for me, even though I read and write a sizable portion of my working day in English!