At the end of the sermon on the mount Jesus deals with the idea of being and doing in a frightening statement. He says, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven" (Mt 7:21). People will reply and say, "Lord, didn't we do things in your name? Cast out demons and prophesy?" These are surely works of God, right? Jesus didn't argue with them and say, "No, you didn't." Instead he simply says, "Depart from me, I never knew you." Jesus is pointing out the difference between being and doing. Spiritual formation is not something we do to ourselves, but something we allow God to do in us as we yield to the transforming grace of God.
