Entire industries exist with the primary purpose of helping us change what we don't like about ourselves. Fitness and diet industries. Beauty and fashion industries. To help us come to terms with traits that may be difficult or impossible to change, the counseling and therapy sectors offer their services.
What do these mega-billion dollar enterprises say about our individual self-concepts? Basically, that we will be satisfied with ourselves if and when we become who we want to be.
The problem: who I want to be is a moving target. As a child, I had certain ideas about what I should become personally and professionally. These goals evolved through adolescence and young adulthood, and are undoubtedly still evolving. Did I ever reach a single target before finding my focus had shifted to another? This cyclical approach to being is both exhausting and disappointing.
Scripture gives us a different perspective, however. Our goal, as Christians, is not to achieve some satisfactory physical or emotional state while on earth. Our goal is to fix our eyes on Christ, who is working to redeem all of Creation to its proper form and function. As Hannah Anderson writes:
"Our God is making all things new. He is making you new. And He can do this for the fundamental reason that all things flow 'from Him and through Him and to Him.' Including us. Especially us."
We were created in God's image, and are now being conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). This process will not be completed until we are in God's presence.
Anderson concludes, "One day, He will transform your lowly body to be like His glorious body... And one day -- oh, glorious day -- you will be like Him because you will see Him as He is. Even so, come Lord Jesus. Quickly Come."
What does this mean for Christians, who live here and now? First, that we can stop pursuing temporal "improvement" as our defining traits. And second, that God is working in and through us to accomplish His goals for our lives. We don't have to achieve a certain weight, flawless skin, or a profitable career. We only have to trust our days and our lives to the One who is making all things new.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Made For More (Chapter 11): Becoming Real - Living as a Work in Progress
We are God's work in progress. How should this make us feel? Hannah Anderson writes:
"As God transforms you to be more like Him, as your heart mirrors His more perfectly, you can expect two different things: (1) You should experience the ability to increasingly live as you were created to live and (2) You should also feel deeper pain when you do not. And it is this very pain that confirms that you are in the process of changing. This pain helps you remember that you are no longer the person you once were. Even on our worst days, then, even on those days when you feel so out of sorts that you hardly know yourself, you must remember that this discomfort, these growing pains assure that you are made for more.
"And this is why you must remember the past even if it is so broken and painful that you'd rather package it up in a box and shove it away in your soul's hall closet. You must remember the past so you can rejoice in who God is making you to be. Because as dangerous as it is to presume upon God's goodness and continue to live in your old identity, it is equally dangerous to overlook the work He has already accomplished and is accomplishing in you.
"When you do look back and you can actually see God transforming you, bit by it, ever so steadily, you can have hope. You can remember that this is His work and that what He starts, He will finish. You remember that because He has begun a good work in you, He must complete it. And amazingly this faithfulness -- God's persistent, steady faithfulness -- engenders our own faithfulness in response. When we remember all that He has been for us, it strengthens our faith in Him and our resolve to continue to find our true selves in Him. When we turn to behold His faithfulness, we end up reflecting it in our own lives (Hannah Anderson, Made For More)."
Friday, March 20, 2015
Made For More (Chapter 10): A Kind Providence - When Jesus Leads You All The Way
Do our lives both acknowledge the brokenness of the world and affirm the love of God as stronger?
Under the chapter subtitle "Victim Mentality", Hannah Anderson writes:
"Still, while a diminished view of His love can result in a diminished sense of self, a diminished view of His power can result in the exact same thing. If we view God as too weak to guide our lives, we will become small, fearful people, tossed by fate, always reacting to other people's choices. Instead of being defined by power and love, we will become defined by fear, anger, and impotency. Some people respond to this sense of helplessness by recklessly indulging their every desire in order to achieve some level of control. By doing only what they choose, only what they want, they expect to free themselves, but instead, they can quickly become mastered by their own lust, anger, and fear.
"None of which reflect God's character or allow us to live imago dei.
"When we fail to embrace God's sovereignty in the details of our lives, we become victims. And nothing strips us of our humanity faster than becoming a victim, if only for the simple reason that God is not a victim. He is a God of power and love and wisdom, and as His image bearers, we must be women of power and love and wisdom as well. In order to be who we were created to be, we must not only acknowledge the brokenness of this world, we must at the same time affirm that the love and power of God is stronger still (Hannah Anderson, Made For More)."
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Made For More (Chapter 9): Toward Perfect Union - Living Holistically in a Fractured World
Paradox is a difficult concept to define, much less to integrate into our understanding of theology. Basically, a paradox is a concept or person comprised of seemingly contradictory characteristics that are nonetheless true (or at least possible).
For example, God being both totally loving and completely just may seem like an impossibility. Yet we can ask ourselves: is God loving? Yes. Look at the extent to which Christ went to save sinners (the cross). Is God just? Yes. Look at the extent to which Christ was required to go to save sinners (the cross). The cross represents one of the most profound paradoxes our finite minds can entertain: the mercy of God and the wrath of God, simultaneously and completely illustrated.
Since we (humans) are made in God's image, Anderson argues, similar paradoxes exist within us as well. Our difficulty in understanding these seemingly opposing aspects of ourselves often leads us to polarized views in which one side or the other is completely ignored. For example, we are both body and spirit. However, some people devote their attention nearly entirely to improving their physical bodies, while others ignore their health in pursuit of spiritual improvement. A similar pitting against self often occurs in the matter of gender and personhood. Am I a woman or a person? Of course, I am both. As Anderson summarizes:
"While being a woman is essential to my identity, I am not 'simply' a woman. There is a part of me that transcends my gender, so in the end, regardless of how conservative we may be, we must all agree that a woman has more in common with a man than she does with a female cat! The paradox of identity is that I am both a woman who is a person and a person who is a woman. And this will never make sense until both my womanhood and my personhood are united in Jesus Christ... By embracing the paradox we discover not two separate truths about ourselves, but the beautiful simplicity that unites both. We discover the simplicity that can only be found in Him -- that can only be found in the One who can hold all things together (Made For More, Hannah Anderson)."
If we are made in the image of an infinitely complex (yet perfect) God, it follows that we would not be "simple" in makeup. This should not frighten or discourage us, but rather empower us to find our identities in the One who is all things good.
Question: What apparent contradictions have you noted in yourself, which are both nonetheless true?
For example, God being both totally loving and completely just may seem like an impossibility. Yet we can ask ourselves: is God loving? Yes. Look at the extent to which Christ went to save sinners (the cross). Is God just? Yes. Look at the extent to which Christ was required to go to save sinners (the cross). The cross represents one of the most profound paradoxes our finite minds can entertain: the mercy of God and the wrath of God, simultaneously and completely illustrated.
Since we (humans) are made in God's image, Anderson argues, similar paradoxes exist within us as well. Our difficulty in understanding these seemingly opposing aspects of ourselves often leads us to polarized views in which one side or the other is completely ignored. For example, we are both body and spirit. However, some people devote their attention nearly entirely to improving their physical bodies, while others ignore their health in pursuit of spiritual improvement. A similar pitting against self often occurs in the matter of gender and personhood. Am I a woman or a person? Of course, I am both. As Anderson summarizes:
"While being a woman is essential to my identity, I am not 'simply' a woman. There is a part of me that transcends my gender, so in the end, regardless of how conservative we may be, we must all agree that a woman has more in common with a man than she does with a female cat! The paradox of identity is that I am both a woman who is a person and a person who is a woman. And this will never make sense until both my womanhood and my personhood are united in Jesus Christ... By embracing the paradox we discover not two separate truths about ourselves, but the beautiful simplicity that unites both. We discover the simplicity that can only be found in Him -- that can only be found in the One who can hold all things together (Made For More, Hannah Anderson)."
If we are made in the image of an infinitely complex (yet perfect) God, it follows that we would not be "simple" in makeup. This should not frighten or discourage us, but rather empower us to find our identities in the One who is all things good.
Question: What apparent contradictions have you noted in yourself, which are both nonetheless true?
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Made For More (Chapter 8): Queens in Narnia -- Embracing Your Destiny to Reign
How do you define work? An undesirable task? A paid activity? Force times distance?
How we define work significantly influences our approach and response to our daily activities. If work is merely an undesirable task, joy can only be found in its completion (not the process). If only paid activities are considered work, then much of what we do on a daily basis may be considered "unrewarding". If W=F•d, as defined by Physics, most of us do little to no work every day (though honestly, I do much more of this "work" hauling around a toddler than I ever did in either my clinical or research residencies).
Our definitions should be based on Truth, which we (as Christians) discover through God's word. What does the Bible say about work?
Perhaps one of the most well-known verses on work is, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters (Colossians 3:23)." This passage destroys each of the previous definitions. Work is not an undesirable task, a paid activity, or the movement of an object with force. Work is whatever productive thing we find ourselves to do, and more: work is an opportunity to worship.
As Hannah Anderson points out, work does not occur solely outside (or inside) the home. "Being women who work imago dei means being women who are productive and sacrificial wherever we are because our God is productive and sacrificial everywhere that He is... Ultimately working imago dei means understanding that all work is sacred, all ground, holy; not because of what the task is but because of who we are imaging."
Does your "position" define your view of work (i.e. are you a businesswoman, a professor, a physician, or a stay at home Mom)? In what ways can God redeem your understanding of work as serving Him and others, rather than trying to "achieve" some preconceived goal?
How we define work significantly influences our approach and response to our daily activities. If work is merely an undesirable task, joy can only be found in its completion (not the process). If only paid activities are considered work, then much of what we do on a daily basis may be considered "unrewarding". If W=F•d, as defined by Physics, most of us do little to no work every day (though honestly, I do much more of this "work" hauling around a toddler than I ever did in either my clinical or research residencies).
Our definitions should be based on Truth, which we (as Christians) discover through God's word. What does the Bible say about work?
Perhaps one of the most well-known verses on work is, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters (Colossians 3:23)." This passage destroys each of the previous definitions. Work is not an undesirable task, a paid activity, or the movement of an object with force. Work is whatever productive thing we find ourselves to do, and more: work is an opportunity to worship.
As Hannah Anderson points out, work does not occur solely outside (or inside) the home. "Being women who work imago dei means being women who are productive and sacrificial wherever we are because our God is productive and sacrificial everywhere that He is... Ultimately working imago dei means understanding that all work is sacred, all ground, holy; not because of what the task is but because of who we are imaging."
Does your "position" define your view of work (i.e. are you a businesswoman, a professor, a physician, or a stay at home Mom)? In what ways can God redeem your understanding of work as serving Him and others, rather than trying to "achieve" some preconceived goal?
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)