A word caught my attention recently, that describes well the process of transformation and sanctification that a committed follower of Jesus should experience. The word is convergence.
So what does the dictionary say it means? Webster’s 1828 defines converge as, “To tend to one point; to incline and approach nearer together, as two lines which continually approach each other.” Another dictionary says, “moving toward unity or uniformity.”
Looking in the Bible for this theme brings much light to the subject, but a very notable verse states, “So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image” (2 Corinthians 3:18; NLT). As a Christian (literally “little Christ”), we move towards uniformity to who Jesus was and is, as a person. We continually focus on aligning with the One point, Jesus.
Conversion
What sets convergence in motion? The answer is conversion. So what is conversion? The verse above speaks of a “veil removed.” The true nature and character of God are veiled (hidden) to those who do not believe in Jesus as their Savior and Lord. Jesus, God’s Son, reveals the heart of Father God. “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16; NLT).
Sin has broken humanity’s sweet fellowship with God. Severed is the relationship by which each person he has created comes into knowledge and expression of their unique identity. Jesus made it possible for that relationship to be fully restored. Believing in Jesus as the Way to have relationship with Father restored is a great start, but true conversion puts the belief into action. We must act in accordance with belief. We must act in accordance with our God-given meaning and purpose.
A reoccurring theme in Jesus’ teaching is that obeying his message is the real test of whether belief is real or not. He uses the illustration of fruit on a tree to show that “fruit” (speech and actions) will reveal what’s truly inside a person (see Matthew 7:16-20). The book of James specifically states, “faith without good deeds is useless” (James 2:20; NLT).
The book of Romans shows us further that a heart converted to Jesus is a heart that forsakes the sinful nature we are born into. “So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God” (Romans 8:6-8; NLT). Without belief in Jesus, we are lost and trapped in a hopeless condition. Belief in Jesus as Savior (the One who saves us from our sin) begins a journey of making our way back to God’s intent for us. Belief in Jesus as Lord (supreme ruler of our life) is what sustains our journey and restores the sweetness in the relationship with Father God.
For those interested in the theological terms, they are regeneration, justification, and sanctification. I explain themes of inner person change in greater depth in my book PACE to Peace: Finding Inner Rest in a World of Unrest – https://edwardhersh.com/pacetopeace. God has initiated (and accomplishes) this redemption process, but the further we go on the journey, the more important our cooperation with him becomes. Our sinful nature doesn’t easily give up the fight for control. Surrendering control to Jesus is a process that requires not only conversion, but also convergence.
Let me be clear. I am not suggesting a works-based religion. In terms of our eternal destiny, our good deeds do not save us (see Ephesians 2:8-10). Our best efforts cannot be compared to the glory of God, and the works he completed to accomplish our justification. As he transforms our hearts, we must, however, comply with deeds that show that the sanctifying work of God is active within us. As this work progresses in our hearts, our God-given purpose and meaning in life become more evident.
Convergence
In order to understand how convergence takes place, we must understand a few things about how sin operates in our lives. Contrary to what many believe, the problem of sin is not fully ended with a conversion experience. In my book PACE to Peace, I use the illustration of a buyer purchasing a house in which to live. The settlement of sale gets the new buyer into a house, but making it comfortable for his lifestyle may still take a bit of effort. As the Scripture teaches, Christ Jesus purchased our salvation with his blood on the Cross. When we respond to his redemption message (conversion), he takes over our house (heart), but cleaning up our heart takes the rest of our lives to surrender to him the rights of ownership (convergence). Our hearts must be continually converted into a more and more inhabitable dwelling for Father God’s presence.
The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in our hearts at conversion. However, we still live in an earthly (sinfully natured) body. Parts of a physical house may be livable, and other parts may be in disrepair. Similarly, parts of our hearts may be yielded to Jesus for his purposes, but parts may still even be hostile to God (as the verses quoted above indicate). We must understand that the two parts live in the same body, and our hearts are torn between the two. This struggle is explained more in Romans chapter seven.
Romans chapter eight gives the hope we need to overcome in this struggle. The English language is unable to capture well the original Greek explanation in which the text was written. Most English translations of the Bible fail to emphasize the ongoing need for inner transformation. Much of my understanding of this need for inside out change came from a book by Ed Kurath called I Will Give You Rest. Some of the book is accessible at: http://divinelydesigned.com .
Converging Requires Core Change
Conforming more and more to the image of Christ is a daily struggle of laying down our foolish thinking and believing, and replacing it with the Truth God has gifted to us. Parts of our hearts are found and freed from the entrapment of unbelief. Parts of our hearts need more work to recover from root issues of darkness.
The sinful parts of our hearts influenced by the bitter roots (see Hebrews 12:14-15), cause us to sin frequently because of the condemning judgments we make. I explain this in chapter 5 of my book PACE to Peace, but briefly it goes like this. Based on our default tendency to interpret our world in a negative direction, we make false assumptions, develop inaccurate perceptions, hold on to false beliefs (lies), which all feed into condemning judgments. We do this so automatically we don’t even realize it happens. Without separating people’s behavior from who they are as a person, we think and act condemningly of people instead of loving people as God desires.
Almost all problems we have in our relationships with other people, have this dynamic at the root. These are the bitter roots that cause the bitter fruit in our relationships and distressing outlook on the world around us.
The sin of judging is particularly destructive because it goes to the core of our rebellion against God. The original sin that brought shame and condemnation into the world happened when Adam and Eve demanded to have the right to be their own Judge. God created man with the absence of judgment. The original condition of man did not need to know right from wrong. But man was tricked into believing the lie that he could and should trust his own judgments instead of God’s. This was, and always is, a fatal error.
Condemning judgments inevitably turn into bitterness and resentment. Replacing these bitter roots with better roots is a gradual, ongoing, consistent process (convergence) of surrendering rights of judgment to Jesus. God is the righteous Judge of all things. We must first be willing to allow God to show us where we have made condemning judgments. Then we must be regularly laying those judgments at the foot of the Cross for Christ’s forgiveness. As we practice this more and more, by the power of the Holy Spirt our hearts are changed into uniformity with God’s design and purposes.
As long as we are alive, there is always a greater degree of surrender to be experienced. Our faith and trust in God deepen as we converge in his presence. More and more the spirit part of our being (empowered by the Holy Spirit) rules the sinful, natural tendencies. For the Christian, this way of living is not optional, but mandatory. The Apostle Paul teaches, “you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God” (Romans 8:12-13; NLT).
Commitment to Change
Forgiveness is at the center of the process of converging. We must release to God (for his judgment) our disappointments, failed expectations, mistreatments, woundings, and hurts life deals us in this broken world. This is a daily task. The prayer Jesus taught us to pray regularly (commonly called the Lord’s Prayer), is all about receiving God’s forgiveness and extending his forgiveness to others (eg. Luke 11:2-4). Matthew’s gospel records, “… and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” (Matthew 6:12; NLT). Confessing, repenting, and forgiving are not a once and done occurrence. Please see my other articles and books on how this happens.
Without a commitment to convergence, conversion can still leave a believer broken and disappointed with God and people. I believe this explains how so many confessing Christians live in defeat and appear no different than the world.
In my view, according to the Bible, a gospel message that only presents an invitation for conversion with the exclusion of convergence, is inadequate at best, and can even be harmful in some cases. Sometimes bad physical consequences go along with sin. False expectations for difficult life circumstances to be automatically turned around, can lead to disappointment and blaming God for troubles. An unhealthy relationship, for example, may not turn healthy if the other person is not willing or able to work on reconciliation. We cannot, and are not responsible to, change other people, but we are called to examine, and respond to God, for changing ourselves.
Finally, I echo the words of the Apostle Paul to my readers here, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2; NLT).
My hope and prayer for all reading this is that we can be genuinely changed agents, in order to serve as change agents in this world.