Posted on by Christina Adams

Virtues and Vices

A line I was reading in Rod Dreher’s book Live Not by Lies, stood out to me the other day. It pointed out that freedom in the classical definition used to mean that a person had no vices, that they lived by virtue. Ultimately, that the person who lived by virtue was always the freest person. This is why Plato and Aristotle spent books trying to analyze and determine what were vices and what were virtues. Vices were then to be abhorred and resisted and condemned. Hence why in no country was drunkenness ever a culturally accepted and encouraged virtue for soldiers, specifically when on duty. It is a vice because attentiveness and clear mindedness are more virtuous and will bring the most freedom to those needing protection and to the soldiers themselves. A soldier who has done his job to the best of his ability never has to fear living in regret or shame.

Dreher also pointed out that we no longer have this definition of freedom in our society. Instead, we have replaced a freedom of virtue with a freedom of choice. Freedom of choice sounds good, because we all want to be free to choose what we want to do. The problem comes when people want to be free to choose to do actions, indulge in vices, that will harm themselves, harm others, and harm society. Our obsession with freedom of choice has made it so that citizens are no longer allowed to resist the negative choices of others or even to suggest that the choice might have negative consequences. Those who do speak out are castigated, forcefully sent out of polite society with extreme intolerance.

However, the deeper problem with having a freedom of choice over a freedom of virtue is that we have no concept of standing up for what is right and true. We have grown into a society that accepts silence as the preferred opposite to joyful acceptance. Although even silence may come under attack soon. Freedom of choice has risen in part because we have forgotten why virtues were good for the individual and for society. We stopped talking in terms of virtue and vice. Then we were challenged on the definition of sin and had a hard time communicating just how sin ruins lives. We also did not show the freedom that exists in a life without sins or vices.

Vices are naturally shameful because they always contribute to some excess or some flaw that if continued in could lead to pain, suffering, and humiliation. There are consequences that the vices lead to by the very nature of the vice and how it affects those who have them. Vices blind those who indulge in them to some area where they might wish to have been more vigilant in. It is not acting in the vice the first time that makes it wrong, because it always seems fun or like an easier life. Rather, it is the accumulated result of doing the vice over and over that changes the person from one who could be aware of certain dangers to one whose sensibility is dulled or whose ability to resist that vice is gone.

It is only when the consequences happen that, if we are honest, we can see the vice for what it was. Only now we have to live knowing that if we had not had that vice, that consequence, along with the pain of all those hurt by it, would not have happened. Even when others are not hurt by carelessness or killed by an inability and lack of desire to help, those who engage in vices will never live up to the potential they would have had. Those who live focused on vices will always let themselves down in the end with questions of what could have been.

Where vices bring a selfish life to an unfulfilled end, virtues bring an honorable life to a completed, peaceful end. A virtuous life never has anything to be ashamed of. It has no fear of what consequences the right actions might lead to because the right actions don’t have to be second guessed. We have the freedom to choose our actions, but not the consequences of our actions. Virtues lead to more positive consequences. Opportunities are recognized and seen when they happen. Abilities are ready and able to be used when the opportunities come. Character is such that the best interactions are possible.

Where there are fears with vices, there are no fears with virtues because knowing we have done the best we can with what we had leaves us with nothing to be ashamed of. If accidents happen, they were not caused by us nor were they the result of something we could have prevented if we had done something the way we were supposed to do it. We may wish the accidents did not happen, but we can go to sleep at night without regret. In other words, we can live with ourselves. As we will never become anyone other than who we are, we ought to do what we can to become someone we will be content to live with forever. This is why freedom of virtue is better than freedom of choice.

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Posted on by Christina Adams

Viewing Others

A few years ago, I was listening to a bunch of Dallas Willard teachings and processing the things I was learning. I would often write down a paraphrase of something Willard said, or a thought I had while listening to him, that I wanted to think on more and stick it to my bedroom wall so that I could see it often. One of these phrases was on how we should think about others, it said, “See all as they would be if they were fully submitted to Christ (and be fully submitted to Christ).” I didn’t write down what Willard teaching I was listening to when I wrote it, but that line has begun to change the way I view others.

Here’s what I mean by it. My intention is to get to a place where I see other people both as they are right now, but chiefly as they could and would be if they were living a fully submitted life to Christ. A fully submitted life is one that desires all that is good, pure, and true, that is humble and does not need to win, that desires first of all to honor Christ over all personal opinions and preferences (even in theology), that obeys Christ’s commands, that is secure in Christ, and that is patient.

It helps to imagine what people would be like if I were to meet them in heaven, for then we will all see more clearly. First, I would be a better person and would not need to respond wrongly nor would I be distracted by life and ignorant to their needs. My goal would be to glorify Christ in all my relationships and to love others as God has loved me. Second, they would be a better person and would not need to respond wrongly nor would they be distracted by life and ignorant to my needs.

So, when I come across a person who is difficult, I immediately think, if we were both to be in heaven right now, we would not be having this kind of conversation. Furthermore, when we do meet each other again in heaven, I will probably be embarrassed and they will probably be embarrassed by what we said, did, and thought. We will see how ignorant we were and how clouded our judgement about what was really happening was. We will both wish we had handled this moment differently. Sincere and earnest apologies will fly back and forth. We will automatically wish each other well and want to share the love of Christ we have with each other. We will have the wholesome kind of relationship that we would honestly want now, but other things are getting in the way.

Then, I see what difficult people are doing now in a completely different light. Instead of feeling attacked, I can realize that they are insecure. Instead of feeling frustrated, I can recognize that they are afraid. Instead of wanting to defend myself, I can let them ‘win’. Instead of taking an offense, I can see beyond the extreme language to what is really going on inside of them. All because I can have a different perspective on what is going on between us now within the framework of what would be happening if we both loved and obeyed Christ.

The contrast gives me the ability to identify what is out of place now with the truth of how it should be. So many words would never be said. So many emotions would not need to become that intense. So many fears would never be acted upon or expressed. When I am looking at people as they could and would be under Christ, I see the potential that is still in them. The hope of what it would be like to be in a real relationship with that person, springs to life.

Yes, there are some people who have done horrible, evil things. This is not to negate any of that, but it is to say that even evil, horrible people can be changed by Christ AND when they are changed, all that we might have hated about them fades. Their life in Christ means that they are learning just how evil and horrible they have been and are rightly horrified by it because they are seeing what they have done contrasted to the purity and goodness of Christ. True repentance and obedience to Christ would change all people into the kind of people we could be in a relationship with.

Now, this doesn’t mean we should all let everyone in our lives no matter how they are acting in the present. Some relationships will only be safe, in that sense, in heaven. We need to be aware of who people are now, but also stay open to the idea of who they could become. This way we are never hardened by unforgiveness and bitterness. And we can be free from being hurt by the injustice that others might want to do to us. We are just being patient and waiting for the day when we will all be capable of healthy relationships. But until then we are free not to join in the retaliation and insecurity because we are trying to place Christ at the center in our lives.

Can you see all as they would be if they were fully submitted to Christ? How would seeing others like this change your interactions with them?

Posted on by Christina Adams

Foxe’s Book of Martyrs vs. Martyrs Mirror

In this video I compare and contrast John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs with Thieleman J. van Braght’s Martyrs Mirror or The Bloody Circus. Check them out!

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Posted on by Christina Adams

The Illness

The city had been plagued by illness. It was an ancient strain that began before the city had been formed. For many years it had been ignored, then a huge campaign was started against it. They thought they had won. But small strains still existed. They would always exist. And the strains came back, slowly at first until the disease began to ravage the city again. Everyone knew that part of the reason the disease spread so much was that half of the city refused to acknowledge that there even was a disease now, or that it was as deadly as the doctors said it was.

But Piper Clemmons was not one of those people. She firmly believed in the illness. She did not see the effects as frequently as everyone else who believed in the illness around her did, but she confidently condemned all that they condemned. The symptoms tended to change faster than Piper could keep up with them, but she always assumed that’s because she had long hours at work and did not always have time to catch up on the latest updates. Her roommate, Daphne always knew what was most recent because she worked in the hospital and she’d speak often on what was going on.

Piper always listened intently. She feared the illness and hated its long reign over the city. She wanted the city to become whole again, it was her deepest wish. Whenever she could Piper would post on social media about the dangers of the illness, its symptoms, and warn those who did not believe in it to change their mind. It was her duty.

“Did you hear?” Daphne asked when Piper walked in the door.

“No what happened?” Piper asked.

“The illness has spread to the brain now.”

“Oh no!”

“Yes, but it’s worse than that.” Daphne paused for effect staring straight into Piper’s eyes before continuing. “Now, anyone who has ever used certain words has been infected.”

Piper frowned. “Words? Like what?”

“Anyone who ever praised the subway system, I mean we all know that the deniers live and thrive down there, anyone who used the word ‘responsibility’ to mean a moral obligation, and anyone who ever thought that the illness would have a cure.”

Piper nodded. She wanted to keep all those symptoms fresh in her mind. A recent conversation she’d seen on social media with a denier had touched on the first two for sure. Then she paused.

“Anyone who ever thought that the illness would have a cure?” she asked.

Daphne nodded. “That’s the one we’ve known about for years. There will never be a cure.”

“But I thought five years ago that everyone was saying that the cure could be found if we split the city into divided boroughs that kept the deniers out and that the illness would then be able to runs its course.” Piper set down her keys and slipped off her shoes.

“When did you think that?” Daphne asked.

Piper shook her head. “I didn’t think it. I just thought I remembered you or the hospital saying that.”

“Oh, I would never think that,” Daphne said.

Piper nodded. She grabbed a quick meal while Daphne scrolled through her phone and then Piper went to bed.

Morning came too soon, but as Piper was getting ready, she heard a light knock on her room door.

“Piper?” Daphne’s voice came through the door.

“Yes?” she asked.

“Can you come out here?”

Piper pulled her shirt down and opened the door. Daphne was standing there wearing the same clothes she had on the night before and her hair was loose and wild.

“I have bad news.”

Piper waited, trying to prepare herself for the worst.

Daphne just shook her head. “I’ve checked and you have the illness.”

Instantly, Piper’s head began to swirl. What?

“I spend all night going through your posts. Once four years ago you said, ‘We need to be responsible for the people in this city and stop the illness’ which is clearly a moral obligation usage, although I had to think about it for a good hour and do more research. And twice seven years ago, you reposted messages from others that talk about the illness getting a cure. Those were people we’ve known have the illness, so you must have caught it from them. I’m so sorry.”

Piper’s knees buckled and Daphne helped her get back to the bed.

“But I don’t understand. Wait! Those posts were so long ago, maybe I don’t have it anymore,” Piper said.

“That’s not how it works,” Daphne said. “You’ll need to call your job and let them know you won’t be coming in.”

Piper nodded.

“Get your stuff ready and I’ll take you to the hospital,” Daphne said. She gently patted Piper’s hand.

Numb and in shock, Piper did not remember what she said to her boss. She vaguely recalled well wishes and an affirmation that the hospital was the best place for her now. True to her word, Daphne took Piper to the hospital and helped Piper check into a room.

“I’ve asked to be transferred to your floor, so at least I’ll be able to monitor your progress,” Daphne said.

“Do you think I will be here long?” Piper asked.

Daphne didn’t reply.

The first day was full of pokes and prodding. Piper changed into the red jumpsuit that all the infected wore and they ran more tests. All of which produced the same result. She did indeed have the illness. It was a light case, but all cases were deadly. Eventually.

In the morning, Daphne was the first person that Piper saw. She would now be Piper’s nurse and work on her floor. Daphne took Piper’s vitals and reported that the illness was dormant today. But that was good, because it gave them an opportunity to try some treatments that might slow the illness down. Daphne left and returned with two vials. Both contents were injected into Piper’s arm. By lunch Piper’s arm was itchy and in the early afternoon hives began to break out on her arm. She called for Daphne and Daphne gave her some medicine to drink that helped the hives to go down a little. Piper’s stomach felt queasy after the medicine and she could barely eat her dinner.

Piper felt better in the morning and was able to eat breakfast. But then Daphne came in with two more vials.

“Do you really think I need those?” Piper asked.

“Absolutely! This is the best thing for you right now,” Daphne said as she injected Piper again.

Almost instantly Piper felt itchy.

“Oh no, it looks like you’re getting hives again,” Daphne said. She disappeared and came back with more medicine. Piper obediently drank the medicine, but her stomach recoiled. It wasn’t long after Daphne left that Piper began to vomit. Daphne rushed back in and held Piper’s hair and stroked her back.

“It’s the illness for sure,” Daphne said when Piper rolled back into bed exhausted.

The next day Daphne came in with four vials. Piper was too weak to say anything, but her body shook inside. The rest of the day was filled more hives, more vomiting, and a throbbing pain that shot through her body. Piper struggled to sleep all night and when Daphne arrived again with five vials Piper shook her head.

“I—I don’t want any today,” Piper managed to say.

“Nonsense,” Daphne said. “This is the only reason you’re still alive.”

Piper pulled her arm away.

“Piper,” Daphne said. “I’m only trying to do what’s best for you. I want to help you beat this illness.”

“Are you really sure that I even have it? I’ve tried so hard not to get the symptoms.”

“I know you have. You just didn’t fight against it well enough.”

“But can I just have today without the vials and see how I feel?” Piper asked.

Daphne shook her head. “That’s the illness talking. A few more shots of this and you will be feeling much better.”

But Piper did not. The hives, vomiting, and pain were all worse. Piper began to think that perhaps she would die. It was the thought that kept returning as she tried to sleep. Exhausted and weary, Piper rolled out of bed and tried to stand. Gingerly, she made her way to the door and she shuffled down the hall.

“Piper, what are you doing?” Daphne asked. She still had her winter coat on and was carrying her lunch bag.

Piper glanced at the door and then did her best to smile. “I’m just getting some exercises so that I can give that treatment a better chance of working today.”

Daphne tilted her head, but said, “That’s the spirit. Here, I’ll walk you back to your room. We don’t want you to tire yourself out.”

Piper endured the whole day waiting for night to come and Daphne to leave. Nervous energy filled her as night began. She waited until all was silent and then crept out of bed. She made it to the hall door and practically tingled with excitement. She was finally going to be free. But when she opened the door and walked through it, there was Daphne sitting in a chair by the wall resting.

Piper froze.

She could feel the door closing behind her and put her hand back to keep it from making a sound, but she was too late. The door clanged shut. Daphne’s eyes flew open and she stared at Piper.

“I was hoping you would be different,” Daphne said. “You were once so enlightened. You thought the right things and did the right things. But you were corrupted. You weren’t vigilant enough to fight against the illness and now it has you completely.”

“Daphne, just let me go. I won’t give anyone the illness. I won’t. I’ll never think anything wrong again.”

At first, Piper started to hope that Daphne would agree because she was quiet for a long time. But Daphne just shook her head and called for orderlies to take Piper back. Now Piper was physically restrained in her bed and her door was locked.

Time passed miserably for Piper. It was hard to tell days from nights as they all felt the same. Then she noticed that there was a different nurse in her room.

“Where’s Daphne?” Piper managed to ask.

The younger woman pointed to the wall. “Didn’t you hear? She’s in the room next to you. She caught the illness too.”

“B—but how?”

“She wasn’t vigilant enough. If you think there’s not a cure for the illness, newest research shows it’s a sure sign of a symptom of the illness.”

Piper wanted to sit up. “I thought there was a cure for the illness, that was why I came here. Can I go now?”

The woman shook her head. “No, it’s too late for you to get out. Once you have the illness you can never leave.”

Piper didn’t have the strength to argue or to think through what was happening, she had given that up long ago.

Posted on by Christina Adams

On Reality

One of the current problems in the Christian Church today is that we do not know how to know truth. There are tools that exist for knowing the truth, but we don’t know what they are and we are left to figure them out alone. What that ultimately means is that we tend not to find the tools at all and just go through life without them.

Dallas Willard spoke often on the disappearance of moral knowledge. That is, the kind of knowledge that helps us to live the best kind of life and to know it is the best life as opposed to other claims of knowledge and the quality of life those claims lead a person to live. He would also say that reality is what we run into when we make bad choices. Both of these show the importance and value in considering reality as a tool for understanding what is true.

First, it is important to lay the foundation for reality. All things begin with God, who created them. God designed humans in a certain way and for a certain purpose. When we live outside of that way or purpose we live outside of our design and are often hurt because we are doing things we were never intended to do. Now, there is a pain that comes from growth, where some actions that are good for us require effort, but our bodies are not used to that effort and so it hurts. Just as we are stretched when we have to try new tasks or act in ways that our personalities are not automatically rejoicing to act. These kinds of things are different from the feeling that comes when we are struggling against reality itself.

Part of the problem is that it is hard to know the difference between attempting something hard poorly and attempting something we were never meant to do. God can teach us the difference. If we have asked Him how we are to do that activity and then we try different things with the same frustrating result and a silence of encouragement from God in that area, then it is possible we are trying to do things He does not want and has not intended for us to do. Moving on to something else can be the best thing we do.

The point for this is that God is using reality to instruct us on how we can live. Reality gives us natural positives and negatives that teach us what the right path is. This also applies to spiritual things. In our spiritual lives and in our churches, we can try programs or systems, but the results have less to do with God’s pleasure, disapproval, or timing, than they have to do with the quality of the outcome that our program or system will naturally produce. The best programs and systems are the ones that God Himself has created. These are the ones that Jesus used, that He taught His disciples to use, and that His Spirit has been whispering to us ever since. We are always free to try other programs and systems, but we are not free to have those programs and systems produce the same results.

Not all programs and systems are made universal. It can be too easy to see something working in one church and to want to bring the same thing to ours, only to see it not have the same results. We are not made to follow after other churches though, we are made to follow after Christ. He is and always ought to be our source. This is why what we do tends not to have the same result. What are we chasing after? Also, what kinds of results are we hoping for? Jesus’ way of doing things does not often lead to crowds, at least not to crowds that stay. Jesus’ way of doing things leads to greater dependance on Him, deeper depth of character, more obedience, longer patience, calmer peace. We don’t strive with Him, we walk. He opens opportunities and gives us the option to follow Him. When we run off on our own idea, He waits for us to struggle through the mud until we realize we’re not going with Him and we decide to come back.

Reality is beautifully designed to teach us gently. The longer we ignore it, the more painful reality can become. But if we can learn to recognize the difference between moving with Christ and moving on our own, then we never have to fear reality. It will be the safest place for our souls to be no matter what the outside circumstances look like.

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Posted on by Christina Adams

Want vs. Need

What is the difference between a want and a need? Here’s some thoughts!

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Posted on by Christina Adams

Prayers that Have Nowhere to Go

Why are not more prayers get answered? If one sets aside all unanswered prayer issues of personal sin, selfish motivation, or absurdity, what answer is left is the kind of prayer we pray. Some prayers are too vague for us to know if God answers them or not. Some are too general to know if God answers them or not. And some prayers have nowhere to go.

There are many kinds of prayers we can pray. Quick, immediate prayers about the present and answered just as instantly. Big prayers that involve important issues and could take a long time to answer. But the kinds of prayers it would be important to discuss are the kind of prayers we might pray, perhaps in a prayer group, that might be very needed, but ultimately God cannot answer these kinds of prayers easily without multiple miracles on His part.

These are the kinds of prayers that are big, that require God changing many hearts, gifting many people, or drastically changing the course of an occupation, a nation, or a movement to go in a direction that they would not naturally want to go. When we ask for God to raise up more Christians into church leadership, the arts, business, politics, the mission field, etc., what we are often asking God for is a miracle, an out-of-the-realm-of-reality miracle and often not just one. People pursue what they know to exist and what seems to them to be a beneficial career to pursue, but if they do not know that career exists or how that career could benefit others, then they will not pick that career. Instead, they will go with what they know.

Now for some occupations we do a good job of letting Christians know they exist and that they are desirable to pursue, but others we do not do a good job in spreading the word. For the latter then, when we pray for God to raise up people for that job we are asking God to single-handedly inform individuals with the right skills about that job, like art or business or politics, train that individual in a Christian mindset despite the fact that most information about that job comes from a secular worldview that does not abide by God’s reality, and then encourage that individual to keep going at this job even when there is little money and little support. This is a lifetime of miracles. Now, God does work in people’s lives and He does seek to show us all the right ways to do them, but if He is the only one doing the work it will be a long uphill battle where God has to grow a new generation to answer our prayers.

Firstly, we must start by acknowledging that God desires to answer the prayers of His children. He seeks to use each prayer to its utmost capacity. It is not that these kinds of prayers should not be prayed, or that God cannot answer them, but it is more that the person praying them often is not currently willing to be used to make the changes that person is praying for. They are just praying. On the other hand, if we pray and then teach others about this job, its benefits or create potential benefits, and how to pursue it in a godly way, then God can answer our prayers because He has something to work with and He has people who can be excited about that going that direction. This is something we should consider.

Prayer is the means by which we can work with God to build His kingdom. It is the way we can engage with Him and a major way that we can see Him working in our lives. When we pray for things that are beyond our sphere of influence, we are asking God to work alone without us. And there are some things we indeed cannot do that we should still pray about. We just need to be aware that when we are praying those things, do we have no intention of doing something about it ourselves? Are those prayers just words? Is there anything that we could do to be involved in it?

If we are praying for things that we can act to accomplish, even if we are very small and the task is very big, God can multiply our actions to answer our prayers. He then has a willing participant in His actions that He can use, all because we intend to act using God’s strength and wisdom. They are no longer prayers that require a miracle, nor are they prayers that expect God to work alone, rather, they are prayers that will strengthen our relationship with God as we work with Him. These are prayers that have somewhere to go.

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Posted on by Christina Adams

Christianity is Centered Around Christ

This is something I of course knew growing up because all Christians, whether they are old or new to Christianity, know that Christ is essential to Christianity and that we only have eternal life through Him and His death. But the difference is whether Christianity is viewed as something we endure in because Christ died, or as something we enjoy because Christ lives and lives in us and works with us today.

The problem is that so often we co-opt the giving of our life to Christ to then our using our life for things we think God would or ought to approve of. And so, we go on mission trips to Africa or to the Inner City or we join a ministry for God and we fight for that ministry to succeed, often against a lack of interest and help. We then live our days working and striving and feeling worn out that in our minds is for the sake of the Gospel and God.

And yet, God is normally with us while we are doing those things and He will be helping us where He can and encourage us, but the problem is that we have been focused on the wrong thing the whole time. We turned the ministry into our life, our purpose, our service. In doing this we have left the source of Life, Christ, who has been waiting beside us for us to get tired enough to decide to follow Him and work with Him. In Christ and His work, there is no striving.

Why are so many Christians in ministry burnt out? Because they are working in their own strength with the good intentions of working for God. The kindest thing God can do is to allow well-intentioned people to wear themselves out doing what they think is the best. Then they will experience that it is in reality NOT the best and they can return their focus to Him who is the best. The unfortunate consequence is that often people in ministry become discouraged, disappointed, depressed, and disillusioned often with God seen as the culprit. This can be really hard to overcome. But when it does happen, it is a sign that what was being done, no matter how wonderfully it started or the good intentions of those doing it, was not being done with God.

God’s work done God’s way with godly character is the kind of work that we will never get burnt out on. Getting burnt out means that in some way we have taken on more than God has intended for us to have and we have stopped looking at Him. Busyness is not a godly trait. Busyness often keeps us from having the time with God that we need for our souls to live in rest. Working for God often means waiting for Him, but waiting is so nourishing for our souls.

Dallas Willard would often say that being a Christian is “learning to live my life as He would if He were I.” Willard would always add that the emphasis is on ‘my life’ because Christ already lived His life and it was now our turn to do what we have the gifts and talents to do but to do them with God and for His purpose and leave the results up to Him. The process of learning how to live with God while doing things for God is a big part of the Christian life. And it is why learning how to follow Christ is essential for each Christian to do. We cannot really call ourselves Christians if we have no intention of following Christ, just as we cannot claim to follow Christ if we are not willing to obey Him or learn about what He says so that we can obey Him better. We also don’t get to call everything we do a ministry we are doing for God when we are the one trying to dictate the results we want. God has His own results in mind, and He has the power to make them happen.

There is a freedom that comes from not having to work toward results. We can trust that Christ will use what efforts we have made for whatever ends He will want. We are not responsible for the responses of others, only our own. Our obedience, our submission, our patience, our humble action is enough in Christ. We don’t have to save our ministries. Those are God’s domain. Some times it will mean letting our hopes and dreams concerning them go and watching outcomes we were taught to fear and fight against at all costs. But all things that are not of God will fade away. We should let them fade away so that we can help God build those things that are going to rise in their place. And all that God builds will honor Christ.

Living for Christ is a free life. We are free to live for Him, for His purposes. This frees us from having to live for the assumptions, wishes, dreams, and goals of others, even ourselves. If we do focus instead on Christ, we will find there are so many games we don’t have to play, so many outcomes we don’t have to dread, so many tasks we don’t have to take. But we have Christ to follow and His commands to obey. That’s the light and easy burden we can work with for eternity, because Christ is right there working with us.

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Posted on by Christina Adams

God’s Attributes vs. God’s Character Traits: A Quick Overview

Last week I gave a detailed explanation of the difference between an attribute and a character trait. Here’s a quick, condensed version of that in case it was too long. 🙂

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Posted on by Christina Adams

On the Disciples

Have you ever noticed how the disciples can get a bad rap for not understanding Jesus? I was reading Matthew 8:23-27 the story of when Jesus calms the storm. There the disciples were sitting in the boat wondering what calming the storm meant and who Jesus was. I was struck by how badly it looked for them to be so clueless, especially as we can look back knowing the whole picture. It was interesting that not even in the book of John does one disciple stand out as the next smartest after Jesus. It is almost like Peter tried, but he failed too. How would it have felt for the disciples to have the story of Jesus, and their story also, described like that?

Imagine a moment that you hear one of your friends wrote a book on your experiences at church and you’re in it. You the one asking questions because you still don’t understand what’s going on, you’re often resisting what the hero of the story is doing, your moments of greatest shame are on display when you desert him. And what was recorded is missing or glossing over all the things you might have done right like when you healed others or obeyed without complaining. What kind of restraint would a person need to be able to say, “Yes, that’s how things were, don’t change a thing”?

And yet, we know that most of the Gospels were written by the disciples or had one as the source. Plus, most were still alive to correct the record if they so wanted when the originals were written. But we don’t have a bunch of original disclaimers. We don’t have traditions of Thaddeus or Simon the Zealot or Bartholomew saying things were different, that some of them were not as bewildered as others. In other words, the stories in the Gospels were not questioned by those who had lived them.

It just seems like it would have been at the least embarrassing to read or hear others read of their own failures without wanting to correct anything to make them look even a little better. But it all depends on what kind of mindset they had. While it would be natural for us to want to adjust our reputation, the disciples were fine with taking a back seat and letting all the honest truth be known. And they were fine with it because of how great Jesus really is. They understood that nothing can be done without Him and that next to Him we are all in the same boat of failing to understand, or not being as smart, or not being as pure.

None of the disciples could ever compare to Christ, and because they had lived with Him, they knew this all the more. Jesus was and is always the greatest, the smartest, the craftiest, the wisest, the most compassionate, the most powerful, the most brilliant, the humblest. The rest of us would like to imagine that we are maybe a little close, or at least closer than the other guy (hence the arguments about who is the greatest), but when we do, we are lying to ourselves.

Perhaps if the Gospels had been written earlier, they would have been different. But in the meantime, the disciples had come to know that their arguments over who would be greater paled next to the risen, reigning Christ. Jesus is the One who matters. And if their short-comings showed His greatness, then all the better. They had learned to care more about Him and His honor than they cared about their own.

It the place we should all come to, where we can naturally ignore our reputation, our own positions, our own desires all for the sake of make Christ as He really is in all His fullness known to others. It could seem like that is a place that could take a long time to come to and without Christ it would be. But once we are living solely for His approval our own failings matter less and less when He uses us in spite of them.

And that’s where I’d like to be one day sooner than others. To be completely confident in the awesomeness of Christ and to desire His approval so much that I am willing to do whatever I can with the frail attempts I have to make Him known. What about you?

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