There are many pet topics we can put forth in describing what a person living for the Kingdom of God must adhere to. We can focus on having a buttoned up theology, serving the poor, advocating social justice, personal piety, and more. Yet at the end of the day, there is really only one area in which our abundant life in Christ will succeed. That area is growing in character.
As Romans 9:9-10 says:
|
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
|
Whether we prayed the classic “sinner’s prayer” or we had a gradual realization of who Jesus is and began to believe in Him, that realization merely the first step in a long line of active pursuit of God that will continue into eternity. That active pursuit is described in many ways in the Bible. At the core of it is developing character in a Christ-like way. Below we will look at different areas of life that we are called to grow in Christ-like character.
Mental Patterns
We will start with the internal process of our conversion. The letter from James says that we sin because we are led astray by our sinful desires, which brings about sinful actions, when results in death. The sin process always begins at the heart/mind level. So that is where the core of our transformation must take place.
It is in the mind/heart area that we make so many decisions. So many of our actions stem from what thoughts we allow to entertain our minds. As A. W. Tozer put it, “What is your mind thinking of when you aren’t thinking of anything in particular?” Another way to phrase it is, “What thoughts are your default setting?”
At a core level, many of our subconscious decisions come from these default setting mental patterns. Most of our unChrist-like behavior and habits are rooted in the way we have allowed the neuro-pathways in our minds to follow a certain pattern. We do that by entertaining particular thoughts so much they lock our mental patterns to a certain pathway. As we establish those pathways, we develop habitual thinking and acting in accordance with our default setting.
However, we can retrain our brains. It is possible to train our minds to develop along different neuro-pathways. We can establish new thought patterns, a new default setting. Once neuro-pathways are developed, it is initially very challenging and difficult work to redirect them, however, it is possible. The simple idea is that we replace bad thought patterns with good thought patterns. We can make this change by what we actively make our minds think of on a regular basis.
Scripture has a few things to tell us about this. 1. In Deuteronomy 6, God instructs his people to keep his Law (aka instruction) regularly before us:
“these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
By doing this, we are constantly putting the Word of God before our eyes, in our ears, and coming from our mouths. That is important for a very simple reason. Educational researches have shown that the more senses you can engage during a learning process will increase the ability to retain what is learned. By following this guideline in Deuteronomy, we are engaging our: Sight-it is on our doorposts, on our foreheads, on our wrists, on our property gates. All the normal places we look around us will have the Words of God written. Sound-We are to talk about God’s word in the company of guests, with our household, and with our children. In addition to seeing the Words, we are hearing the Words. Speaking/Composition-When we converse about God’s word, it is a third reinforcement. Sight and sound are typically passive forms of learning information. Speaking the words and thinking about the words in conversation forces us to articulate. We have to communicate our thoughts. This is an active exercise in learning, because our minds are forced to process the information. By doing so, we begin to internalize the concepts we speak of.
Two other Verses speak about the mental patterns, I’ll simply list them here:
2 Corinthians 10 says to “Take captive each thought to the obedience of Christ.” Which is an active way of guarding against unChrist-like thinking.
Philippians 4 says to “Think on the true, just, noble, peaceful, honorable, praiseworthy things.” We are not to give mental energy to things that do not impact us in a positive, life-giving way. Our battle with sin is not waged with a “Don’t sin” mentality, but rather a “Do righteousness” mentality. One is defensive and will fail. The other is offensive and will succeed.
Attitudes
As we get our minds to conform to Christlike patterns, it will begin to affect our attitudes. When we are in communion with the Eternal God, we will begin to see and feel things from his perspective. We will still be upset and hurt when people sin and act out destructive behavior, however, we become more empowered to respond in a loving, life-giving way. Our attitudes of judgement, bitterness, and unforgiveness will begin to melt away. When we have a Christlike attitude, injustice still hurts our hearts, however, we can have compassion on them understanding the words of Jesus “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Having a godly attitude means we have our priorities rooted in the kingdom of heaven, which is eternal. We operate out of those priorities as we are on mission to fulfill the great commission. Our attitudes are to be designed to expand heaven on earth in the ways Jesus instructed.
Actions
In Scripture, we frequently see the words “believe” and “listen.” In the Bible, “believe” means to “act in accordance with belief.” To “listen” means “to obey.” If we give mental assent to who Jesus is, but do not let that influence our actions and personal energies to become more Christlike, then we are not truly Christians. The Gospel is a mind, body, spirit initiative. It is to transform our entire being, habits, thoughts, and actions. If we are not constantly practicing at living our belief with actions, then we are not being faithful. Being Christian and pursuing holiness is more than merely avoiding the “big sins.”
Actions are designed to conform our physical life to the revelation of Jesus. Morality is a part of the holiness process, however, it is not the end goal. Holiness also isn’t contingent upon obtaining a perfect morality in this life. What matters is actively pursuing a lifestyle that is in line with the teaching of Scripture. If we fail or goof up, then we pick ourselves up, repent, and continue to pursue righteous living.
Righteous actions are just like learning any other skill. The more we do it, the better we get at it. The better we get at it, the holier our track-record will be. Additionally, we have the power of the Holy Spirit to guide us and grace us to succeed in ways better than our secular counterparts. We are established as holy once we come under the blood of Jesus. Our lives then begin the process of a sanctifying transformation through learning the Word of God, practicing holy living, and partnering with the Holy Spirit. In the end, it is a life-long endeavor that we can never afford to stop pursuing.
Relationships
If our conversion in Christ is genuine, it will affect our relationships. However, this also is not a passive affect. It is our job to pursue what a model of healthy relationships looks like and put that model into practice. Healthy boundaries, vulnerability, and honesty are all core essentials to any healthy relationship. As disciples of Christ, we are called to bring Christ-centered restoration to all of our relationships. (In the unlikely event that a relationship is toxic and unhealthy and the other person will not change, there is premise to break ties as a last resort).
When Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matt. 10:34-39
This is a difficult passage to read in terms of practically living our lives. Some things may be culturally specific here. Obviously, the way we read it in the USA is different than how an Islamic convert to Christianity will read it in Iran or Egypt. And the implications are gravely astounding.
At the crux of it all is this. Devotion to Jesus Christ, Son of God is a very polarizing and dividing thing. Christ demands our all. He says in John, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Our whole lives are to be completely devoted to the pursuing and advancing the Kingdom of Heaven. Our lifestyles and relationships must reflect that on a practical level.
We are called to pursue right relationship through the revelation of Jesus. Our first priority is to the risen Lord. Our second is to our human relationships. The passage in Matthew above really parces out the nuance of such practicality. If we are in an all-out pursuit of Heaven, then all our human relationships are secondary. Anyone who tries to force, manipulate, or coerce their relationship with away from Jesus is ungodly. We can commit to loving them, however, we cannot allow them to hinder our pursuit of Jesus.
If they are living destructive lives, then we must be strong and loving by not engaging in their destructive behavior or environments, even if it is our mother, father, or brother.
In Christ, relationships have the capacity to be the best relationships on earth. Without Christ, they can be the most destructive. We can get a lot of our relationship advice from an informed reading of scripture. If we are in relationship with a non-believer (be it mother, father, friend, or sibling), and they understand and respect the boundaries we set as Christians, we can greatly influence their lives for the better. When they refuse to respect our boundaries and relationship with Christ, then they will harm us and the relationship. We cannot go further unless they can hold to and respect the Christian boundaries we have.
Conclusion
Godly character is at the core of our faith. If Christ is in us, then we are empowered to do great and powerful things in the kingdom of heaven. If we aren’t actively developing Christ-centered thought patterns, habits, attitudes, and actions on a regular basis, then we aren’t fully pursuing the kingdom of heaven. We are on mission. That mission is life-long. There is no coasting in the Christian life. There is Sabbath. There is rest. There is recreation. There is just no quitting. There is always something we can work on or improve. Let us partner with God to become the best Christian we can be inside and out. Let us work with the Holy Spirit to bring His redeeming presence into every relationship. Let our Christ-centered actions truly speak louder than our words.