At the Beginning
The Christian life does not culminate in completion.
There is no point on this side of eternity where a person arrives, finishes, or fully becomes what they are meant to be in Christ. The Way of Christ has no final achievement because its end is union with infinite love—and infinite love cannot be exhausted.
The Orthodox Church names the goal of salvation theosis: participation in the life of God by grace. This does not mean becoming divine by nature, nor reaching a perfected state through effort. It means being drawn endlessly into communion with God, healed and transformed as love deepens.
Because Christ is infinite, formation never ends. There is always more pride to be softened, more fear to be healed, more love to be learned. This is not a deficiency in the Christian life—it is its glory. Growth does not stop because God does not stop giving Himself.
To seek theosis, then, is not to aim at spiritual completion. It is to consent to continual transformation. It is to live open to correction, repentance, and renewal without expecting resolution or final clarity. Even the saints speak of themselves as beginners, not because they failed to grow, but because love kept expanding.
Formed exists within this understanding.
This is not a space for mastery or arrival. It is a space for seeking—learning to walk the Way of Christ with patience and honesty, allowing God to reshape the heart over time. The work is slow. Much of it is hidden. Progress is often recognized only in hindsight.
The Way of Christ forms a person not through intensity, but through faithfulness. Not through control, but through surrender. Not through improvement, but through communion.
Theosis is never accomplished in this life. It is entered, and entered again. Each act of repentance opens deeper participation. Each return to love draws the soul further into Christ. Formation continues as long as love can grow—and love has no end.
This is the beginning.