In the following I will explain what the author Ortberg, in his book” The Life You’ve Always Wanted, means by “It’s Morphing Time. ” I will explain and give examples from my own experiences of “Boundary Marker Spirituality. ” I will also explain Ortberg’s meaning regarding “What the Spiritual Disciplines are NOT. ” Finally I will describe and discuss from my own experience the signs of “Wise Spiritual Training. ” It’s Morphing Time The author Ortberg described in “The Life You’ve Always Wanted,” “It’s Morphine Time” as the ability to be transformed into something where you can do extraordinary things.
The ability of transformation is the essence of hope. (Ortberg, p. 20). He also stated Morphoo is defined thus “the inward and real formation of the essential nature of a person. ” (Ortberg, p. 21). Basically I believe he means the changing of a person from the inside out. Boundary-Marker Spirituality Ortberg describes boundary markers as, “Groups that have a tendency to be exclusive. These are highly visible, relatively superficial practices – matters of vocabulary or dress or style – whose purpose is to distinguish between those inside a group and those who are outside. ” (Ortberg, P. 32 ).
Boundary marker spirituality in short is the stereotyping of certain people groups based on their outward appearances. For example the author uses the illustration of Hippies in the Haight-Asbury district of San Franscisco in the 1960’s (Ortberg p. 34). In my own experience with some examples of boundary marking spirituality I would have to say with my religion Seventh Day Adventist we have a set of boundary markers, we are not allowed to eat pork or any animal that in the bible is considered unclean. We are also not allowed to wear jewelry and we must attend church on Saturdays, which is the day that God rested.
What the Spiritual Disciplines are NOT When Ortberg speaks about what the spiritual disciplines are not, he gives us 3 examples.
1) “Spiritual disciplines are not a barometer of spirituality. ” The author means that it is not about how many disciplines you do but rather about increasing your capability of loving God.
2) “Spiritual disciplines are not necessarily unpleasant. ” Ortberg explains that most of us think that in order for us to do something that counts as a spiritual discipline, it probably would mean doing something that we would preferably not do.
3) “Spiritual disciplines are not a way to earn favor with God. ” Meaning we should not practice spiritual disciplines to earn brownie points. These disciplines are for us, they give our life value and in turn help up achieve transformation or teach us to “Morph” Wise Spiritual Training The author speaks about wise spiritual training as starting with a clear decision, you have to decide and commit. “There will be times of desolation and times of consolation. Times where we are close to God and times where we are not. Wise training respects the freedom of the spirit.
Spiritual transformation is the work of God. Wise training respects our unique temperament and gifts. Whatever your natural temperament may be, it is not a barrier to your spiritual growth. ” (Ortberg, Chapter 3). For me I try to read the bible as much as possible, I am in continued communication with God. I take every experience in life as an opportunity for spiritual growth. I do not question God’s plan. Finally I can say that what I learned from Ortberg is that in order for us to “Morph” there must be a change from with in.
In our lives we will encounter what he calls “Boundary Markers” that basically are people of different religions that use identity markers to differentiate those who follow Christ, and those who don’t. I am pretty sure everyone at some point in their lives has come up with their own set of identity markers. The author also revealed to us what spiritual disciplines are not. So we can stop using them in the wrong way and in turn use them with the purpose God intended for us. Which is to learn how to “Morph” to achieve spiritual transformation. With the wise spiritual training, we learned about some ways we can use to learn spiritual growth.
