Formation Over Formulas
A Lenten invitation to notice who is forming us
I created a short reflection that traces this movement from formless to formed to transformed. You can watch it below.
On Ash Wednesday, a small cross of dust was pressed onto my forehead.
“Remember that you are dust.”
I went home thinking about Genesis.
In the beginning, the earth was formless.
God formed it.
He spoke light into darkness, separated the waters, and breathed life into dust.
We were formed by the hands of God and brought to life by His breath.
Then came the fall.
Sin did not create something new. It deformed what God formed.
Shame entered. We hid. We grasped. We reached for control.
And ever since, humanity has been reaching for formulas.
Formulas promise clarity, comfort, predictability.
A way to fix ourselves without surrender.
A way to manage life without returning to the One who formed us.
But God does not abandon what He formed.
In Christ, what has been deformed can be transformed.
Scripture speaks this hope again and again:
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2
“We all are being transformed into His image.” 2 Corinthians 3:18
“He will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body.” Philippians 3:21
Transformation is not self repair.
It is not a formula.
It is the steady work of Christ forming His life in us by the Spirit.
We are all being formed.
The question is not whether we are being shaped, but by whom.
The world forms us through noise, speed, fear, and comparison.
Christ forms us through presence, truth, surrender, and love.
We are constantly being informed.
But information alone does not transform.
Left unattended, we can even be misinformed and shaped more by what we consume than by the One we follow.
Lent does not create formation.
All of life is formation.
Lent simply helps us notice.
It is a season to slow down and pay attention to what is shaping us.
A season to return to the Potter’s wheel.
A season to loosen our grip on formulas and surrender again to the One who formed us in the first place.
Not heavier effort.
Clearer attention.
Gentler surrender.
So I’m entering this season with a posture of noticing.
Where am I reaching for formulas instead of trusting Christ to form me?
What am I feeding my mind that is forming my thinking and desires?
What would it look like to stay on the wheel and let Him shape me?
Lent is not a test to pass.
It is an invitation to remain.
To return to the Former.
To trust the One who does not discard the clay but patiently reshapes it.
What sin has deformed, Christ is able to transform.
So this season, I find myself praying:
Creator God,
You formed me from dust and brought me to life by Your breath.
Form in me what reflects You.
Where I have been misinformed, renew my mind.
Where I have been deformed, restore.
Where I grasp for formulas, teach me surrender.
Shape me into Your likeness slowly and faithfully by Your Spirit.
Amen.
If you are entering Lent as well, consider this a gentle invitation to notice with me.
Not to master a formula, but to walk closely with Christ.
He is still forming.
And in His grace, we are being transformed into His likeness.