Conformed to His Image
Conformed to His Image
Kenneth Boa’s book, Conformed to His Image: Biblical and Practical Approaches to Spiritual Formation, was unfamiliar to me until I had to start reading it for my Spiritual Formation course. It is a treasure trove of ideas and methods to help us be more like Jesus. I will periodically share portions of the book with you I’ve found particularly helpful, challenging and inspiring.
Many of us struggle with the concepts of solitude and silence. Many find it impossible to have a quiet moment alone. Our world is so noisy that we often find it difficult to concentrate if it’s too quiet. The following excerpt from Boa’s work challenged me in this. After lunch, as I worked, I consciously quieted myself.
Solitude and Silence
In solitude, we remove ourselves from the influence of our peers and society and find the solace of anonymity. In this cloister we discover a place of strength, dependence, reflection, and renewal, and we confront inner patterns and forces that are alien to the life of Christ within us.
Silence is a catalyst of solitude; it prepares the way for inner seclusion and enables us to listen to the quiet voice of the Spirit…Silence is at odds with the din of our culture and the popular addiction to noise and hubbub. This discipline relates not only to finding places of silence in our surroundings but also to times of restricted speech in the presence of others. [1]
If Jesus found it necessary to have times of quiet solitude perhaps, it is something we should try as well.
[1] Kenneth Boa, Conformed to His Image: Biblical and Practical Approaches to Spiritual Formation (
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