Central Christian Qualities

Here is a list of central Christian qualities that both individuals and institutions(churches) will display as a result of following Jesus Christ. Not that I have these but I think that I should

Humility
-Not selfishly ambitious or seeking power
-Not pushy or controlling
-Jesus who had ultimate power asserted none of it. He affiliated with unimportant people who had nothing to offer him. He could have taken over the world by military might or physical force but he didn't.

Contentment
-Are satisfied with what God has given them
-Do not see material items as being the solution to their problems
-Jesus didn't setup a stable base of operations and his disciples had to give up their's to follow him.

Hopeful
-Should always have and hold out hope to others
-When all others have given up hope believers should be the exception
-One of the central beliefs of Christianity is that this reality isn't all their is and that we have a bright future as we rely on Jesus Christ.
-I think Joy and Hope are integrally linked together, perhaps producing encouragement.

Sacrificial
-Desires and looks forward to giving things up for the sake of others
-Is looking to learn the benefits of sacrifice personally
-Jesus sacrificed throughout his life and in his death

Redemptive
-Has a heart to give value back to that which has been called useless or hopeless
-Jesus cultivated relationships with people rejected by society (whore, a tax collector, blue collar workers, an activist). He healed using rejected things (spit, mud). He took a man determined to destroy his followers and used him to reach the world. He (God) came down and redeemed us.

Courageous (Risk-Taking)
-Has the ability to do what needs doing that others fear to do
-Jesus did this so frequently that it is impossible to relate every occasion. Courage was a hallmark of faithful characters in tht Old Testament too (Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Elijah & Elisha, Daniel & most of the prophets)
-Trust God enough to move even when everything else says to stay put

Forgiving/Gracious
-Since we have been forgiven even at our very worst, we should want to extend that same forgiveness to others

Introspective
-The focus of questioning motives and judgment should be focused inward primarily
-Understanding of others is fostered by judging ourselves first and realizing the grace we give ourselves
-Jesus accepted those who perceived their own faults and judged those who were blind to their own faults.

Patience
-Endurance & self-control are results of real patience
-Patience realizes that results can take a long time to show if they ever show at all
-God is a god of inefficiency. He demands patience because he works in years and decades more often than seconds and minutes. God is in no hurry and we get ourselves into trouble when we get into a hurry.

More to come...

Galatians

I read Galatians the other day and here is what I think it was about.
Paul was frustrated with the believers in Galatia. They were starting to migrate in thought and actions back toward a belief centered around a righteousness earned by keeping the traditions of Judaisim. He argues that this is a step backwards, away from righteous attained through God's grace towards us and back towards a righteousness earned by being good enough. He says in doing so we are giving up freedom for slavery.
That is what I feel like I discovered about evangelicalism. I didn't even know the freedom existed. I actually had argued against this freedom as dangerous at one time. And freedom is dangerous after all. But Christ still calls us to it.

Gal 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then and don't let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

I don't want to be a slave to certainty, safety, knowledge, arrogance, or control anymore.

The fruit of the spirit

I have been thinking alot lately about character qualities which are or should be visible in the lives of people who are trying to follow God. Humility is a big one. Paul gives a list in Galatians 5 that includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These characteristics are not visible due to personal effort but rather surrender to God and his will. I have not surrendered to God this year. I haven't humbled myself. I have tried to exalt myself and have been disappointed when my efforts have not resulted in my exaltation. I have ignored God. I have convinced myself of my rightness and my enemies wrongness. I have tried with all my might to prove my worth. I question whether I have value to God where I am, whether I am doing enough. I have allowed myself to think that this place where I am right now has no value in itself but is only helpful as a stepping stone to something else. The something else is something that would bring glory to me. I would tell you that I believe in God and Jesus as his son but my life has not reflected that "belief." My life this past year has reflected self reliance and that I feel that I am alone. I feel lost and alone. God has tapped me on the shoulder several times this year and made me aware of his presence. I have generally appreciated those times and then totally forgotten them shortly after. I have wanted to be important this year. In 2008 I want to make a movement back towards humility, gentleness, forgiveness, understanding, and self-control. I want to stop trying to get what I want and surrender to God and his will. And I want to figure out how to lead while surrendering. This will be the only satisfying way forward.

Suffering and control

I was very lamely trying to translate 2 Cor 1:3-6 this morning and it read like this:

Blessed(I wish I knew a better modern day equivalent) be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all encouragement, the one who encourages us in all our trouble in order that we are able to encourage those in any trouble through the encouragement with which we were encouraged by God. That just as the sufferings of Christ overflow into us, so also Christ’s encouragement overflows to us. If we are CRUSHED, it is so we can later encourage and save you, if we are encouraged , it is so we can encourage you, which enables you to patiently endure the same suffering which we are also experiencing.

God is at work in your life. The work he is trying to accomplish in our lives sometimes seems counter to the goals that we have. Goals that we even seem to have got from him!?! When we moved to Omaha to start a post-modern church I was excited! When I took a job at Napa and was working with unchurched people I was excited! When I realized $7 an hour was almost more of a detriment than a help to our family I got a little depressed. When I realized that the Sheriff’s Office wouldn’t be hiring again for another year an a half I got more depressed. When I realized that I was going to have compete against 300 others for 10-20 openings in the metro area I got more depressed. When I tried to move up at Napa and realized that there were 3-4 less educated people in front of me in line I got more depressed. Then I realized that I was trying to make everything happen. I wasn’t giving God space and time to work. My desperation was causing me to try to force God’s hand. So he had to bat all my silly attempts at control out of the air and leave feeling hopeless so that I would know with out a doubt that it was him solving these problems and not my efforts. I learned a lot about humility during that time, much of which I think I have forgotten now that I am back in a place of “power.” Still 2 ½ years later there is no church. God is still at work. If I try to rush him he will probably stop and wait for me to regain patience so we can move on. God much more often seems to work on the 40 year plan than the 40 day plan. Even as I write that it is still hard to take.

The passage continues:
And our hope for you is firm, knowing that since you are sharers of the suffering, you are also sharers of the encouragement. For I don't want you to be ignorant, brothers, about the suffering which we experienced in Asia, which was so far beyond what we could handle that we were hoping to die! But we had the sentence of death within us so that we would not trust ourselves but the God who raises the the dead!