""... then you want to do His will and see the desires of your heart that He's put in there happen." That's one of the best statements I've ever heard. It's easy to understand. Is it easy to experience? Is your will, your heart, aligned with His? Is mine?

The quote comes not from Christ the carpenter but from my good friend Jeff Newton, the carpenter. He runs a well-regarded home renovation business out of southeast Connecticut. I had a really encouraging conversation with him last night. Hear what he's saying to you and to me: "Back in 1996, I was in a real depression, and the pain made me search." (Now bear in mind that this wasn't a guy who hadn't accepted Christ already. This was a guy who had done that and was a regular church-going Christian but needed more -- something more in his life.)

He goes on: "I was hungry for a number of things and tried to listen to God. Around that time, I was involved in a fellowship and we were experimenting with prayer, fasting, and other spiritual disciplines. The whole thing -- the group aspect of it -- wasn't being forced at all. It was just natural.

"Another thing that I started doing around that time was becoming accountable to a mentor, a member of our church by the name of Michael Brent. There was a lot of one-on-one sharing of fears and failures. The result of all this was that I began to feel accepted without having to strive. When you get to that point, then you want to do His will and see the desires of your heart that He's put in there happen."

And so that's the end of the story and everyone lived happily ever after, right? Not quite. Today is just one more day in a long journey, as it is for you and me. However, Jeff does say that he's rejoicing at the feeling of being “more solid,” as he puts it and having less anxiety. Since then he has been married and has had a child, and that has provided its own opportunities for spiritual growth.

As for the more formal aspects of his discipleship journey, he continues to have a mentor, and if he can fit in a good conference, retreat, or Christian book into his life, his eager to do that. His emphasis right at the moment is on God-discerned goals -- to discover them and learn with the help of his mentor how to implement them so as to bring them into fulfillment.

Now, tell me. Isn’t this obviously a guy who wants to participate in the divine nature? (2 Peter 1:4) He seems good enough by any ordinary standard. But he’s already participating in the greatness and wants more.

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