Shaping Faith's Commitment to Character

“Some men are like a house that has the entrance of a palace,” complained Baltasar Gracian,  “but the contents of a hut” (Ideals/1953/1-1956,32.Vol 13 #1).

Life spent well and lived wisely becomes a gift from God by which we give honor to him. How we live-out our lives best expresses our thankful appreciation to God for his gift.

Here is a daily dozen that will build intentional character into your commitment and enable you to live whole in your fractured world.

1. Trust God

Living whole begins by personally surrendering ourselves to God. Committing selfish behavior and materialistic living to him is like accepting an airline ticket, personally boarding the flight, and trusting fully in the flight crew.

Jesus Christ is a million-mile pilot. He invites us to discover the joys of flying on his craft and trusting his skills. He challenges us to journey in a comfortable seat, enjoy the facilities, and invest in the journey. As the pilot upon whose skills we are dependent; we quickly discover he is the pearl of great price (Mt. 6:21).

Too many, observed President Reardon, “have drifted into a vacuum, mindless, emotional religious rock band, exhibiting fun-time religion accurately described by Bonhoeffer as ‘cheap grace’” (Reardon /The Early Morning  Light/1979/85).

2. Live daily
The bible provides God’s playbook (Col. 3:16). In reading it, we discern His will for our lives. We discover the daily commitments most valuable, and learn how to invest our lives for the maximum return on our investments.

Through daily preparation, we learn how to meet life’s issues each day and experience life's best in the worst of times.

3. Benefit from Uncommon Valor

Admiral Chester Nimitz described World War Two times as a time when “uncommon valor was the common virtue.” First century Christians from Luther to Wesley to Menno Simons experienced “uncommon valor” through the mentoring of God’s Presence. 

Peter Friesen consequently concluded that in looking beyond mere “repentance and faith,” he found “a life of sanctification according to the rules of the gospel through the gift of grace of the Spirit of Christ” (Toews/A Pilgrimmage of Faith/Kindred Press/ Winnepeg/1993/32)

4. Personalize Private Prayer

God gladly shares himself when we make time available for him (Mt. 6:6-7). Daily prayer allows occasions for exploration. Discovering new spaces within impacts our spiritual growth powerfully. Thus; Morris Abel-beer concluded that whenever he built a church within his own heart and carried it with him everywhere he went, he experienced a greater sense of holiness than when he attended the house of prayer but for a day.

5. Fortify Faith With Fasting

Prayer fortified with fasting and prayer increases strength for difficult times. This helps us focus more intentionally on special needs. God honors such efforts and invites us to fast when we need His special guidance, as well as when we intercede for others (Mt. 17:19-20). Some things, concluded Jesus, come only with “fasting and prayer” done in our private times (Mt. 17:21, Mt. 6:6-18).

While we can defend this biblically, the spiritual value remains most easily understood “only in terms of personal experience” (Massey/Spiritual Disciplines/ 1985/67).

6. Live Ethically
Discipleship calls for ethical responses to God’s claims upon our lives (James 1:5-6). Paul insisted this righteousness is actualized in our lives through ethical behavior (Ro. 6:17-19). The resurrection of Jesus points us toward right behavior and teaches us to choose those ways most deeply rooted in his resurrection.

We become discerning disciples when we learn to reject life’s lesser choices and intentionally select “the best” although we could get by with “good” or “better.”  This empowers us to walk lovingly among other believers and to walk wisely among non-believers (Col. 4:5). 

7. Give freely
God gave his best when he offered a loving relationship (John 3:16-17). He expressed himself most fully when he gave himself, and he counts on us to give ourselves through our beliefs and behaviors (I John 4:11-13).

By walking daily with Him; we learn to love our neighbor best when we love ourselves. In this way we learn to give more than we take.

8. Collaborate with others
We experience the church as the body of Christ when we extend our hands to serve as Jesus served. He calls us to personal participation in interactive relationships on his team (Acts 2:47). Unlike others events and activities, the church of God reserves no bleacher section for spectators.

Coach Jesus invites players to active participation through sharing his friendship, accepting his coaching, and serving actively in his name. This honors Jesus as the Bridegroom that chose the church as his bride (Eph. 5:29-32).

9. Relate Responsibly
God’s purposed will remains part of our natural and social environment and belongs to him (Psalm 24:1). We, as His church, lead the way through responsible relationships within our community, our country, and our world. In this way, we share God’s concern for justice and righteousness in all of our relationships (Mt. 28:19-20).

10. Focus on Family
The home is God’s laboratory where each of us discovers our personal worth, our sense of accountability, and our most meaningful relationships. Our family should be our safe haven in testing times, the place where we can develop those relational skills we will need. A Christian home provides a cornerstone on which our social structure can build safely and securely.

In turn, the church fortifies the home by helping each member develop a capacity for respect and intimacy while guiding us into other social structures that help us understand these relationships.

11. Grow By Intent
The more we mature, the better we can understand and accept ourselves as Christ accepts us (Psalm 19:14). Maturity builds confidence and competence for dealing with personal issues while assisting us in identifying a meaningful vocation and other great decisions of life.

12. Purposefully Forgive
Life is like a keyboard. The fingers of the Master Musician transform our cacophony of sounds and converts them into a harmonious symphony that offers new levels of joy in an otherwise joyless world.

Following Hubert Humphrey’s death, I watched longtime political adversary Richard Nixon sit beside Humphrey’s wife Muriel. Commentators revealed that in spite of their adversarial relationship, Humphrey had prearranged for Nixon to fill this honored seat because he determined to show forgiveness to his one-time political foe.

When Jesse Jackson visited Humphrey three days before Humphrey’s death, the Minnesota Senator confessed that “At such a time like this you are forced ... to grapple with that which is really important. And what I have concluded about life is that when all is said and done, we must forgive each other, redeem each other, and move on.”

Faith provides the lynchpin for creating identity that relates to our surroundings. Faith exalts discipleship that particularly identifies God’s people and it enables authentic behavior that best shapes character that is truly Christian.

I am

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