Introduction
Welcome to “Nothing New.” The goal of my blog in the past has been to stimulate discussion about all things related to CBC, the Christian life, and the world at large. But it has recently been hijacked by my cancer and treatment. This means I have to eat some crow (which I hate) because early on
I boldly claimed I would not allow my condition to take center stage in my life.
But it is taking center stage on my blog – for a while. I am rather torn about this development. I am uncomfortable making this all about me – because it’s not. It is strangely therapeutic for me to blog about this, however, and I cannot express even a fraction of my appreciation for everyone who reads and leaves their funny, weird, and /or encouraging words in comments and emails.
So please join with me in dialogue. I always look forward to reading your comments. (If you'd like to follow my cancer journey from day 1, please go to my post on 6/25/08 -
Life Takes Guts - in the archives and follow the posts upwards from there.)
One question; graded on a pass/fail basis.
Posts
13 comments:
Of the ones you listed I would have to say Love (1 Corinthians 13:14). I will place my vote in Other_____. I am going to say GRACE. Of all the world religions, I believe Christianity is the only one the has Grace. It is grace that even allows us to know Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-5 "But God being rich in mercy, because of the great LOVE with which he LOVED us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-by GRACE you have been saved." It was God's LOVE that extended GRACE to man.
So above all else, Christians should be characterized by a life of grace. I like that.
That's not even a hard question.
The resurrection. A Christian's life should be lived because of, in light of, and in recognition of the resurrection.
Christ's resurrection:
-proved He was God
-guarantees our resurrection
-gives us power in this life to overcome the world
-is the hinge all Christianity swings on.
1 Cor 15:19-26
If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
I completely agree that the resurrection is the cornerstone of our faith. Without the resurrection, our faith is meaningless.
But it is hard to say of a Christian, "The defining characteristic of his life is the resurrection."
The resurrection is the ultimate foundation for the Christian life, but I'm thinking more along the lines of the essence of the Christian life. What is the one most important characteristic of the Christian life?
Salvation cannot come apart from the resurrection so would it not be part of salvation.
Anonymous,
Yes, the resurrection is sbsolutely critical for our salvation. Again, "Without the resurrection, our faith is meaningless."
I guess in this post, however, I am not trying to understand the basis or foundation of our faith.
The idea of a personality trait isn't exactly what I mean, but it is closer to what I am looking for. What is the defining characteristic of a Christian?
Maybe I should have provided a fill in the blank test.
The Christian life is MOSTLY about living a life of _____________.
Choices:
enjoying God
holiness
righteousness
suffering
compassion
obedience
sacrifice
wisdom
worship
service
humility
freedom
theological understanding
faith
hope
love
grace
The Christian life is MOSTLY about living a life of resurrection power.
I see the resurrection as not just a foundational event or fact but as an actual part of my life. It is the resurrection that gives me everything. It gives me not only my fact for the past and hope for the future but my motivating power for the present.
But if that doesnt work for ya, how about this:
The Christian life is MOSTLY about living a life of grace and truth.
John 1:14
Truth and transparency with each other and with Christ. Maybe those mean the same thing in the way I am using them. If we live in denial about who we really are before God, then we cannot hope to do/be any of the other things you listed.
D,
Well said. And point taken.
(I definitely live my life under my own power much of the time. What a sad, pathetic kind of existence...)
Alan,
Good thoughts! Thanks.
AN
I don't want to dogpile on John Piper. He is a brilliant man and has done more for the kingdom than I.
But just for full disclosure, I'll confess I posted this exam for us to think through what I see as the core of Piper's teaching on Christian hedonism. I think Piper would clearly choose the first item on my list.
The rest of this comment is a copy of my part of an email discussion to a friend and colleague. Hopefully it will illustrate where I am struggling.
----------------------------
I agree with Piper that, in the end, living the Christian life brings joy, contentment, and happiness. In fact, it is the ONLY way to get TRUE and LASTING joy, contentment, and happiness.
But here is where Piper trips me up: He says that the desire to be happy is God-given and that the desire to be happy is the ONLY proper motive for living the Christian life. Piper goes to great lengths (he likes to disagree with Immanuel Kant and likes to quote Jonathan Edwards) to say that nothing we do should be done out of duty. Everything we do should always be done out of a desire to “enjoy God.”
“We will not try to motivate their ministry by Kantian appeals to mere duty. We will tell them that delight in God is their highest duty.”
Maybe I’ll eventually agree with 99% of what Piper says. But I still think he his overstating his case to make a point I don’t know if our “highest duty” is to delight in God.
And you know Piper loves to say, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.” But I don’t know if the thing that brings God the most glory is when we are “most satisfied.”
I don’t have all the answers (and Piper is smarter than I am). But here are a couple of thoughts…..
When asked what the GREATEST commandment was, Jesus replied we are to love God. Sounds close to Piper, right? But how do we know that we love God? John 14:15 emphasizes obedience. Maybe obedience is the greatest hallmark of the Christian life.
Or, maybe service is the hallmark of the Christian life. Ephesians 2:10 says we were created in order to do good works.
There are other passages we could look at to support how one thing or another is the most important aspect of Christian living. So in the end, I have to look at the Bible as a whole. What does the gospel story in total say? I don’t know if the big picture is one where “enjoyment of God” is the highest duty.
My friend who discipled me when I first became a Christian said to me one time, "Alan, you really just need to settle down and enjoy God. Rest in His peace."
I don't even remember why he said that to me - probably because I was busy worrying about some aspect of living the Christian life in the "right" way.
That's not really the point though. The point is, I don't think I will ever forget him saying that to me. Until he said that, I had never even considered that I could rest in Him - that He was my friend - my daddy. I had, up to that point, viewd him with respect and as one who knew me well and had the power to make my life miserable because I was this faulty person and I knew it. I knew He SAID he loved me, but I didn't KNOW His love and therefore I couldn't really enjoy Him - being in His presence. And really, that's a sad situation to be in because I think you miss the heart of God if you don't KNOW His love as opposed to KNOWING ABOUT His love. So I think Piper has a point - though I am not sure we humans can simply enjoy God without eventually (probably sooner thanlater) turning it into a self-centered pursuit.
Thanks for the thought-provoking post.
I know it's a little late in the game, but I want to play too. I would have to say it would be Obedience. If you didn't obey, then how would you do/have any of the other items listed.
Piper says "...the desire to be happy is the ONLY proper motive for living the Christian life."
Wow. I hate when I have to vehemently disagree with a heavyweight but, yeah, he's way off on this one.
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