That was the question a student recently asked me as we were discussing experiencing the abundant life (John 10:10) and living a life that is pleasing to God.  It’s a great question.  It’s the heart cry of many people earnestly seeking to experience the abundant life that Jesus has described.  It seems that we often want to find the “silver bullet” that is the remedy for the difficult or intractable problem we face.  When I studied physics in college my goal was to find the right formula, if I could just find the right formula I get solve the problem – but life is not like that.

Principles are helpful and we will need to make changes along the way but there is a deeper issue that must be addressed.  Fundamentally am I the type of person who would normally live a life that is pleasing to God?  I’m not simply talking about actions but being.  Leo Tolstoy said it well, "Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."   Change starts on the inside with me.

Dallas Willard in The Divine Conspiracy discusses the importance of a curriculum for Christlikeness.  This involves intentional training to become people who consistently walk after the Spirit and not after the flesh.  What’s involved?  It’s recognizing who God is and surrendering to Him in all areas of our life.  This is not easy because we don’t want to relinquish control, we often prefer to walk by sight rather than by faith, perhaps that’s why many people miss out on the abundant life.

Are you willing to not simply do the right things but to be the right person that God has called you to be?  True change, lasting change comes as we change from the inside out, we must be the change we want to see.