What is the Christian life supposed to look like? I have struggled with this question for years, and I haven’t come to any firm conclusions. Still, I do have my thoughts–for what they are worth–and I’d like to share a number of them here.
+ We should be “outside of ourselves” alert. That is, we ought to be aware of the fact that so much of what takes place in our lives, so many of our hopes and dreams, such a large measure of our ability to persevere through hard times is activated by a sense of “the other.” That Other, of course, is none other than the true, revealed in Scripture, the very one who sent his Son to rescue us.
+ We should be driven by love–received from God and (hopefully) from others and directed toward God and the people whose lives intersect our own. Paul said that the love of God compelled him, which is pretty amazing stuff. The whole notion of multidimensional love so filled his life and directed his thoughts that it just naturally (or was that supernaturally?) spilled out into all of his affairs. Cool stuff!
+ We should be both like and unlike those around us. The similarity comes from the fact that we are made of the same “stuff” as all human beings. The difference is a result of our having rubbed up against the grace of God that flows from his Son. It is at this point that we should exude, what should be call it, a godly type of distinctiveness, which is often referred to as holiness. Too often, holiness has been defined and portrayed in a rather strange and forced manner. At its core, though, holiness is simply a life lived within the sphere of God’s presence. This can then work its way out in numerous ways, ways that are linked to such traits as joy, hope, peace, patience, kindness, and many others.
+ We should be “every day, normal” in the way we conduct our lives. No over the top religious hyperbole, no exaggerated commitment to Christian subculture, no need to embrace every politically correct idea that comes down the pike–just a daily life of authenticity.
Obviously, there are many other things that we should “be,” but these represent some starter thoughts.
+ We should be “outside of ourselves” alert. That is, we ought to be aware of the fact that so much of what takes place in our lives, so many of our hopes and dreams, such a large measure of our ability to persevere through hard times is activated by a sense of “the other.” That Other, of course, is none other than the true, revealed in Scripture, the very one who sent his Son to rescue us.
+ We should be driven by love–received from God and (hopefully) from others and directed toward God and the people whose lives intersect our own. Paul said that the love of God compelled him, which is pretty amazing stuff. The whole notion of multidimensional love so filled his life and directed his thoughts that it just naturally (or was that supernaturally?) spilled out into all of his affairs. Cool stuff!
+ We should be both like and unlike those around us. The similarity comes from the fact that we are made of the same “stuff” as all human beings. The difference is a result of our having rubbed up against the grace of God that flows from his Son. It is at this point that we should exude, what should be call it, a godly type of distinctiveness, which is often referred to as holiness. Too often, holiness has been defined and portrayed in a rather strange and forced manner. At its core, though, holiness is simply a life lived within the sphere of God’s presence. This can then work its way out in numerous ways, ways that are linked to such traits as joy, hope, peace, patience, kindness, and many others.
+ We should be “every day, normal” in the way we conduct our lives. No over the top religious hyperbole, no exaggerated commitment to Christian subculture, no need to embrace every politically correct idea that comes down the pike–just a daily life of authenticity.
Obviously, there are many other things that we should “be,” but these represent some starter thoughts.
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