“Preachers and counselors can spend their energy exhorting people to change their behavior. But the human will is not a free entity. It is bound to a person’s understanding. People will do what they believe. Rather than making a concerted effort to influence choices, preachers first need to be influencing minds. When a person understands who Christ is, on what basis he is worthwhile, and what life is all about, he has the formulation necessary for any sustained change in lifestyle. Christians who try to “live right” without correcting a wrong understanding about how to meet personal needs will always labor and struggle with Christianity, grinding out their responsible duty in a joyless, strained fashion. Christ taught that when we know the truth, we can be set free. We now are free to choose the life of obedience because we understand that in Christ we now are worthwhile persons. We are free to express our gratitude in the worship and service of the One who has met our needs.”
Larry Crabb, Effective Biblical Counseling: A Model for Helping Caring Christians Become Capable Counselors
I missed this for so long… but knowing this has been like digging up an inexhaustible treasure right in my backyard! (Matthew 13:44) I even read these very words decades ago, but not until I stopped to assess the source of my significance, did this truth resurface. It’s been a 10 + year journey with this fresh and freeing perspective, and I am now convinced that true discipleship has to start and end here. Otherwise we grind our wheels trying to “live right” and “do right” as Dr. Crabb shares, for all the wrong reasons. This is the heart of true personal transformation. The journey isn’t smooth or neat and tidy, but it’s much more joyful now that I’m trusting rather than trying!
