Tag Archives: Character

Broadening Understanding

Living in the Spirit

June 12, 2020

Scripture Reading: Romans 5:1-8
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

We are who we are because of the confluence of our DNA, our culture, and our life experiences. I see the world through the eyes of a sickly little kid raised by a mother who I describe as the world’s first egalitarian and a father who soothed his soul with music. I grew up on a farm. The art of working began with my first steps. Food as a source of life involved the death of animals and sometimes backbreaking labor generally accomplished in a spirit of fun and comradery. Loving God and following the example of Jesus Christ was built into my being in the womb. Jesus was my friend as a child.  While my concept of Christ has grown over time, he still fulfills the role of a friend for me to this day.

Coming from a small rural community, I interacted routinely with rich and poor, young and old. My grandfather’s first wife was part Native American, and I was raised with nine aunts and uncles who were part Native American. My first encounter with a black person was at the age of six when my mother was taking a college course over the summer. I attended class with her one day. The woman who sat next to her was black.  Mom introduced her to me as she would have introduced me to anyone. Driving home, I asked my mom way the lady was so dark. My mom answered by saying, that is the color God made her. I was in college before I met a person from Asia.

My character was re-shaped when at the age of 23, I became a child welfare worker and saw the world through a lens that broadened my perspective, putting me on the path to justice advocacy that I still walk today.

The thing I must remember, we all must remember is that all people do not perceive the world the same way we do. Communicating is challenged when I see what is happening around me, totally different than others do. Listening and really hearing what someone else is saying requires us not just to take in words but to also consider the confluence of life that created the speaker’s worldview.

Prayer: God of Hope, meld dour life experiences together so that we might all benefit from the experiences of others so that we might grow together with endurance and character striving for hope. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Character Matters

Living in the Spirit
November 5, 2018

Scripture Reading: Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17

Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, ‘My daughter, I need to seek some security for you, so that it may be well with you. Now here is our kinsman Boaz, with whose young women you have been working. See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing-floor. Now wash and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes and go down to the threshing-floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, observe the place where he lies; then, go and uncover his feet and lie down; and he will tell you what to do.’ She said to her, ‘All that you tell me I will do.’ –Ruth 3:1-5

Some have this romantic idea that marriage results from being swept off one’s feet in love and those couples live happily ever after. Our history tells us marriage is much more complicated than that. One of my grandmother’s first marriage may have followed that scenario but six children later her husband was struck by lightning and killed while driving a tractor in a field. She had little or no means of support but began cleaning house, cooking, and caring for the children of a man whose wife was killed in a car accident leaving him with eight children. They eventually married and had three children including my father. I am sure survival and mutual, complementary needs contributed to that marriage.

I thought of my grandparents when I read this scripture about Ruth and Boaz. Hard times demand practical solutions. What I find interesting about Ruth and Boaz is that they both seemed to be people of good character. She committed to staying with her vulnerable mother-in-law; he ordered his harvesters to leave some grain in the fields for the hungry to glean after the workers completed their task.

I guess what I get from this story is that keeping our lives in alignment with God is our primary objective in life. When we do that all else will fall into place no matter what hardships we face. This alignment begins an ends with loving God an loving our neighbors as we love ourselves.

Prayer: Lord, open my whole being to follow your Spirit’s guidance in all aspects of my life. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.