There Is a Difference Between Being Informed and Being Formed

We live in an information age. We have more information than any generation in history. We can know anything, anytime, anywhere.

But being informed is not the same as being formed. Knowing is not the same as becoming.

This is what we have forgotten. We think if we know more, we will be more. But that is not how it works.

Information is about knowing. Formation is about becoming. And they are different.

The Difference

Turn with me to the Gospel of James. James is writing about faith and works:

Faith without works is dead.

That is the difference. Information without formation is dead too. Knowing without becoming is dead.

We can know the Word inside out. We can quote every scripture. We can discuss every doctrine.

But if we are not being formed by it, we are just informed. Not transformed.

And then there is this, from the same letter:

To him who knows to do good and does not do it, it is sin.

That is the danger. Knowing but not doing. Informed but not formed.

It is not enough to know. We must become. We must be formed.

The Formation We Need

And then there is this, from Romans:

Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Transformation. Not just information. Formation.

The renewing of your mind. Not the knowing of your mind. The renewing.

This is what we need. Not to be informed. To be formed.

And then there is this, from the Gospel of John:

Bear much fruit.

Fruit is formation. Fruit is becoming. Fruit is what happens when we are connected to the vine.

Not information. Not knowledge. Fruit.

That is what we need. Not to be informed. To bear fruit. To be formed.

The Question That Matters

So what does this mean for us? It means we need a different goal. Not to be more informed. To be more formed.

How do we get formed? By abiding. By staying connected. By being transformed.

Not by reading more. By becoming more. Not by knowing more. By being more.

This is the difference. This is what we have forgotten.

I know what it is to be informed. I know what it is to know the Word. I know what it is to quote scripture.

But I also know what it is to be formed. To be transformed. To bear fruit.

That is the difference. That is what matters.

Being informed is about knowing. Being formed is about becoming.

Which one are you pursuing?

We live in an information age. We have more information than any generation in history.

But being informed is not the same as being formed. Knowing is not the same as becoming.

This is what we have forgotten. We think if we know more, we will be more. But that is not how it works.

Formation is about becoming. Not just knowing. Changing. Growing. Bearing fruit.

That is what we need. Not to be informed. To be formed.