All posts tagged identity

C.S. Lewis on Losing/Gaining Myself in God

by brad on June 25, 2012 in Counseling Reflection with No comments

A Counselor Reflects on Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

“It is only the Christians who have any idea of how human souls can be taken into the life of God and yet remain themselves – in fact, be very much more themselves than they were before (p. 161).” Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

So here is the question, “When I become a Christian and surrender to Christ as Lord of my life, do I (a) increasingly lose my sense of individuality as I increasingly take on the character of Christ, or (b) increasingly find my true identity as I become the person God always intended me to be?”

Before I seek to answer this question in light of Lewis’ quote, I will acknowledge the bias in option B. By saying “the person God always intended me to be,” I am assuming a creative design in our personality, interests, and destiny.

However, I believe this assumption is fair. Personality and aptitude are observable before we have a “sense of self.” Infants, even within the same family, can have starkly different temperaments. These remain relatively stable apart from traumatic events.

What Lewis is proposing is that only Christianity allows us to answer “yes” to both option A (we become increasingly like the “ideal” which is contrary to our nature) and option B (we become more like the person our personality and interests move us towards.”

Psalm 37:4 captures both of these elements, “Delight your self in the Lord (option A), and he will give you the desires of your heart (option B).”

The question now mutates to, “Is this really possible? Can we really have it both ways? Is this theology that is so detached from personal experience that it rivals a fairy tale?”

Your satisfaction with my answer (which I hope is consistent with Scripture) will be determined by your comfort with the statement that we were made for a purpose (Eph. 2:10). If you believe that every person is a divine craftsmanship made for a distinct role in the Grand Redemptive Narrative of history, then it is no problem to see option A and option B as two sides of the same coin.

One way to understand how Christianity differs from current popular thought is that the Bible teaches that “self-actualization” is a return to God’s world-changing design for your life through repentance and faith in Christ. The culture teaches that “self-actualization is an exploration to find something that can make you eternally happy in a temporal world through self-help and personal insight.

Ultimately, this debate comes down to the question, “Who is the author of your life? Are you the one writing your own story? Did you decide what you would like (or did you discover it)? Did you decide what you would be good at (or did you learn where your aptitudes were by trial and error)?”

When I accept that happiness will be found when I fulfill things I did not choose, then there is no problem accepting that I could become most myself when I lose myself in the will of my Maker. My appetite for things I call “good” and find pleasure in was given to me by Him.

You Don’t Know “The Real Me”

by brad on June 1, 2012 in Counseling Reflection with No comments

As a counselor I have talked to many people who live with secrets. Some were sin-secrets like addiction, adultery, or theft. Others were suffering-secrets like being sexually abused, shamed by a parent, or being embarrassed about living in poverty.

There is something most of these people had in common – the inability to receive love in healthy ways. Their secret (regardless of whether it was rooted in sin or suffering) gave them a filter for every relationship they were in – “You don’t know the real me.”

“You say you love me, but you don’t really know the real me.”

“You say I’m a nice, caring person, but you don’t know the real me.”

“You say I have a heart to follow God, but you don’t know the real me.”

“You say [insert any compliment or affirmation], but you don’t know the real me.”

Life becomes divided: the parts I let people see (good or neutral) and the parts I don’t let people see (bad). Even when the visible parts are real, we feel fake. People comment on and respond to what they can see. We rehearse and respond to what they can’t see.

This disproportionately affects our sense of identity. You can hear it in the phrase the “real” me. It is as if nothing that people can see is “real” because of what we’ve failed to tell them. We begin to believe that a skeleton in our closet means the roses in our living room are a façade. Even if one needs to be removed, it does not cancel out the reality of the other.

Pretending to be a pirate when you’re a boy doesn’t make you a fake boy. Someone who says, “You’re such a good little boy,” isn’t so deceived that their compliment is impotent. But the boy has to accept that he’s not a pirate and return to being a boy before he will feel known and affirmed.

A person with secrets begins to believe that they are so good at hiding no one knows them or would love them if they did. In the minority cases of living a double life this is true. But most often our “cover” is not that good. Few people are surprised to learn that the person who feigned confidence is insecure. Even fewer associate the identity of someone who has been abused by what happened to them as a child. It is by hiding abused comes to mean “damaged” and “unlovable.”

In this mindset any presence of suffering or the flesh cancels out any fruit of the Spirit. Scripture does not seem to speak of life this way (Rom. 7:23; 2 Cor. 10:3; James 4:1; 1 Pet. 2:11). Scripture would seem to imply that for Christians there is a “real me” who is in a war with sin and suffering, and that this war is evidence of God’ grace.

So what do we do? Do we just feel good about ourselves in spite of our secrets? No, that would just add another layer of self-deception under a thin veneer of self-help. It’s just another version of the lie we were trying to believe when we withhold the truth from those around us. Doubling down on that approach is foolish.

So what do we do? We risk being known. We accept the truth that until we take the risk of being known we will never know the joy of being loved. This risk comes with several implications:

We have to quit viewing confession or disclosure as punishment and see it as liberty.

We have to stop resenting others for not doing what we haven’t allowed – knowing the real me.

We have to accept that love is an act of grace that forgives our sin and comforts our suffering.

We have to release control of our secret to embrace something more powerful – love.

The closing thought is this – you will never feel more loved than you are honest. The gospel gives you the power and community in which to be honest. Until you are honest you will think “the real you” is “the secret you.” Once you are honest you can see that “the real you” is “a dearly loved child of God” who may have experienced suffering or struggle with sin.

Rest Reveals Our Identity

by brad on May 18, 2012 in Application Supplement with 3 Comments

This post is meant to offer guidance to common “What now?” questions that could emerge from Pastor J.D.’s sermon on Hebrews 4 preached at The Summit Church Saturday/Sunday May 19-20, 2012.

What is one of the least emphasized descriptions of Hell? I think it comes from Hebrews 4 when it twice quotes Psalm 95:11, “They shall not enter my rest.” I’m not sure that is how I have thought of eternal torment, but I am also not sure I can think of anything more painful.

Imagine always striving but never arriving. Put yourself in the position of always being measured, but never accepted. Picture aiming at a perpetually moving target as if your life depended upon it. I don’t think it is that hard for most of us to let our imaginations go there, because this is how most of us live.

God offers a solution for this – Sabbath (Heb. 4:9-10). But too often we think of Sabbath as a legalistic obligation rather than a gracious gift. We want to know what we can’t do instead of resting in what Christ has already done to purchase our rest.

In order to understand the significance of Sabbath I think we need to look at the fourth of the Ten Commandments where God said, “Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy… You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath (Deut. 5: 12 and 15).”

God was making a direct connection between being delivered from slavery and keeping the Sabbath. Next to freedom, what does a slave want most? Rest. A slave is driven by his/her master. A slave is a commodity who is owned and his/her worth is measured by productivity. A slave is expendable. These realities mean a slave is beaten for or threatened against resting.

God is saying that His deliverance from slavery (whether that be from Egypt, sin at salvation, or idolatry in our sanctification) changes our identity from slave to son. What is one of the chief privileges of a son? Rest. A son is loved by his father. A son is an image bearer who carries the family name. A son is irreplaceable. These facets of identity allow a son to rest.

This rest is more than a vacation or a day off. When the son of a good father works he is not looking over his shoulder to see if his work is “good enough.” The son of a good father works to perpetuate the good name he has been given. The son of a good father is not defined by his work. The son of a good father finds his security in the love he receives on his best and worst days.

This is why our hope is not in rest, but in the God who purchased our rest at the cost of His Son. We are not refreshed by a day of restricted labor. We are enlivened by the love of a God who commands rest so that we do not forget what He has done for us. Our rest is a celebration of Christ’s work.

How does this change the way we approach Sabbath?

We recognize Sabbath as a gift not a restriction.

We engage Sabbath as a celebration of the gospel.

We allow Sabbath (sonship) to invade even our “work days.”

We recognize fear and insecurity as more anti-Sabbath than activity.

We view our stillness as an act of faith in God’s being a loving, good Father.

We recognize our driven-ness is mistaking Hell for Heaven.

Know Christ to Know Yourself

by brad on May 11, 2012 in Application Supplement with No comments

This post is meant to offer guidance to common “What now?” questions that could emerge from Pastor J.D.’s sermon on Hebrews 2:5-18 preached at The Summit Church Saturday/Sunday May 12-13, 2012.

In our day we have defined the meaning of life as “getting to know yourself.” But in many ways that is like trying to understand poetry without knowing the author. You can take a lot of guesses and reach some cool conclusions that seem profound, but you would have missed the meaning.

Meaning belongs to the author and we are not the author of our own life. We can say, “Your life is what you make it,” but that makes life as fickle as your mood and as volatile as your health.  When “life is what you make it” then death rewrites everything (2:15) and we know it… even if we live to ignore it.

But Hebrews 2 gives us the author’s intent for life. We come to know the Author who invaded His own story to free His creation that He loved like brothers and sisters (2:10-11). As we come to know Him we learn who we are in response to who He is. Hebrews 2 gives us four images of Christ.

1. A King Who Got Involved (2:9) – You are created to be part of a kingdom greater than yourself. Therefore you will never find meaning in your life alone. You were born of the royal lineage of the King of kings and abdicated your position to do your own thing. This was a crime of high treason. Yet the benevolent King of kings stepped in and graciously took your penalty to restore your place as an heir of His kingdom. Every lie you were prone to believe that led you to mutiny has been proven false and you are now the subject-son/daughter of the One who made you, bought you, loves you, and is ever with you.

2. A Champion Who Saves (2:10, 14-15) – You face an enemy greater than your ability. When you look for meaning in your life alone, the meaning is “defeated.” Sin and suffering both are more than we can conquer – both result in death and death wins. Or, at least that was the story until our Champion entered the story. Our doom becomes foreshadowing that enhances the glory of the Hero. We become a part of the emancipated masses. Our story is one of freedom won at great price by a Great Warrior. Our role is to celebrate and retell the story.

3. A Brother Who Is Not Ashamed (2:13) – Your deficiencies are greater than you can cover. There is no putting a “good face” on the human condition. We are all the relative that we hope no one learns about. We are the awkward kid in the lunch room. But our All-World Brother walks in and sits with us; not out of pity, but from love and genuine interest. He covers our shame with His confidence. We become who He sees us to be. His opinion of us (His gift righteousness) becomes truer of us than our own opinion. We lose ourselves and find ourselves at the same moment in Him.

4. A Priest Who Helps (2:18) – You don’t know what to say for yourself. You are at a loss for words because there is nothing that could be said. Eloquence cannot make darkness into light. You search for a way to meaningfully represent yourself to God, but your desperate silence is interpreted to God (Rom. 8:26). You find that you are understood better than you know yourself and as you hear your High Priest plead your case you learned what you groped to find in yourself. You stop trying to define “your life” and you learn that Christ is life and that He wants to express Himself through the unique way that He made you.

These four images in Hebrews 2 do not exhaust who Christ is. But hopefully these reflections have helped to establish a pattern of thought and Bible study for you.

First, learn who Christ is. Nothing else makes sense until you know the author of life.

Second, learn who you are in light of who Christ is.

Third, find areas of your life that bring an aspect of Christ’s actions/role to life in your struggles.

Fourth, worship Christ as you lose yourself and find yourself at the same time.

The Gospel for Sin, Suffering, and identity

by brad on March 28, 2012 in Counseling Reflection with No comments

Psalm 103 contains the words of someone who has been on an impressive journey with God. The cheerful introduction often diverts our attention from “all the benefits” (v. 2) that are being called to mind.  The next four lines rotate the gospel-gem in the hand of the Psalmist, as he remembers God’s faithfulness.

Sin: Forgiven (v. 3a) – David realized that all other gospel blessings flow from God’s defeat of sin. That which casts paradise into chaos has been defeated (sin) and has been defeated eternally (at Calvary) so that it could be forgiven internally (in me).

There was no blessing David could think to call to mind before the forgiveness of his sins – not his shepherd-to-king journey, not Goliath, no military victory, no time of peace, not his friendship with Jonathan, no gift to be able to write psalms or lead people… nothing. David knew all blessings from God flow from God’s willingness to forgive sin and transform us into people who could receive any other blessing it pleased God to give.

Suffering: Physical Ailment (v. 3b) – Next, as David recalls God’s blessings, he looks at two forms of suffering in which God had been faithful. First, David recalls God’s faithfulness to heal disease. It is not clear whether David is reflecting on a miraculous near-death recovery or the general marvel that our bodies were designed with an amazing capacity to fight illness.

Regardless, David saw that he owed God his physical life as much as he owed God his spiritual life. A healthy body was as much a gift from God as Christ’s righteousness—the flipside of forgiven sin. Every breath was a reminder of God’s faithfulness.

Suffering: Emotional Despondency (v. 4a) – Second, David recalls God’s faithfulness in the darkest hours (“the pit”) of his life. Again, David does not give us specifics – his father who overlooked him, his best friend’s father had tried to kill him, the guilt of sinning with Bathsheba, the guilt of having her husband killed, a daughter who was raped, and a son who revolted against him. It could be any of these or other moments not recorded in Scripture.

But we do see David wanting to let us borrow his faith when ours is weak. We know David well enough to know he did not have a “cush” life. He shared his life with us in Scripture so that we could share in his hope in God during our darkest hours.

David wrote this psalm for public worship so we can feel free to put our story into his phrase “the pit.” We can put our story on his words because David is merely recalling “all the benefits” of the Great Story – the gospel. When God offers us salvation, it is more than a free ticket to heaven. It is a gateway into His story and this is where David goes next.

Identity: Transformed (v. 4b) – David was no longer a father-forgotten, social-outcast shepherd boy. He was the king of Israel. When he says God “crowns you” with love, this is no accidental phrase. It was his story. But it is also our story, because when we are saved we are adopted by the King of kings.

What it noteworthy is that David highlights God’s steadfast love and mercy as the crown worth remembering. To him it was more astonishing to be transformed from an object of God’s wrath to the child of God’s affection than it was to go from rags to riches. Even a son staging a mutiny could not remove this crown. It was a wrong that brought peace because it had no rivals.

Now why was David writing this Psalm? Verse five would seem to indicate that David was tired and discouraged. More than this, it appears he had begun to down whether God would still be good to him. So what does he do? David begins to preach the gospel to himself by recalling God’s blessings in every area of his life – sin, physical suffering, emotional suffering, and personal identity.

This is both instructive and encouraging for us. It is instructive, because it gives us a pattern to follow in times when we are tired and doubt creeps into our mind. It is encouraging, because we see that even great men like David who slayed giants and wrote Scripture needed this kind of exercise on a regular basis. After all, David wrote many psalms.

C.S. Lewis on Temperament, Feelings, & Obedience

by brad on January 30, 2012 in Counseling Reflection with 1 Comment

A Counselor Reflects on Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

“But though natural likings should normally be encouraged, it would be quite wrong to think that the way to become charitable is to sit trying to manufacture affectionate feelings. Some people are ‘cold’ by temperament; that may be a misfortune for them, but it is no more a sin than having a bad digestion is a sin; and it does not cut them out from the chance, or excuse them from the duty, of learning charity (p. 130).” Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

I love the balanced and nuanced approach the Lewis takes to the subject of temperament (i.e., personality; disposition: lion-otter-beaver-retriever; Myers-Brigg’s Type Indicator, etc…). I would summarize Lewis’ thoughts on the subject in four statements.

1. Temperament is real. People are different. These differences can be classified in legitimate and helpful ways. Children are born with innate preferences and tendencies that remain constant across the life span, often withstanding even traumatic events or major changes in their social environment.

No one classification system “holds the market” on describing these differences. Each test and classification system embeds certain biases of the author which may distract from pointing people to greater dependence upon Christ. Some people will identify with the descriptions of one test over another; others will reject being classified at all (don’t tell them the tests usually predict that).

2. Temperament is amoral. Having one temperament is not morally superior or inferior to another. There is no “Jesus temperament.” I would go so far as to say that it is unhelpful to depict Jesus as the perfect balance of all temperaments (whether you have 4, 8, or 16 in your system). That has a strong tendency to “make God in our own image;” a tendency Christian counseling literature is prone to do.

Someone may be naturally melancholy (given to depression), analytical (given to anxiety), introverted (avoidant of biblical community), or judging (given to over-confidence). These dispositions would represent their most common temptations, and therefore be considered what Scripture calls “the flesh,” but the pervasive temptation would not be inherently wrong unless acted/fixated upon.

3. Temperament is a moral challenge. Our personality does make certain moral duties more difficult or less pleasurable to fulfill. However, God does not write a unique set of expectations for all 16 combinations of the MBTI.

I believe Romans 12:3 applies to this challenge. Paul warns against thinking too highly of ourselves – a common temptation for each person to think his/her approach is “right” or “obvious.” Temperament, like every other unique aspect of a person, has a tendency to be self-centered. Paul also says God has assigned a measure of faith to each person – meaning some acts of faith/obedience are easier for certain people.

4. Temperament is not who you are. The reason all these things can be true is that there is a “you” who has a temperament. Your temperament reveals the values that you most naturally hold. They were given to you (like your body, talents, and intelligence were given to you) to be stewarded for a purpose.

When we define ourselves by our temperament (or body, talents, or intelligence) we lose the sense that God called “me” to steward “what He has given me” for his glory and begin to fall into pride or insecurity. Both pride and insecurity begin to use God’s gift as a reason why we are the exception to God’s rules.

C.S. Lewis on Self-Respect and Devil’s Laughter

by brad on January 9, 2012 in Counseling Reflection with 1 Comment

A Counselor Reflects on Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

“[Pride] is purely spiritual: consequently it is far more subtle and deadly. For the same reason, Pride can often be used to beat down the simpler vices. Teachers, in fact, often appeal to a boy’s Pride, or, as they call it, his self-respect, to make him behave decently: many a man has overcome cowardice, or lust, or ill-temper, by learning to think that they are beneath his dignity—that is, by Pride. The devil laughs. He is perfectly content to see you becoming chaste and brave and self-controlled provided, all the time, he is setting up in you the Dictatorship of Pride. (p. 125).” Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

I think this quote boils down to trying to understand with what’s so wrong with thinking that sin is “beneath me”? If someone is “pro-pride,” they probably aren’t reading this reflection. Few people have a problem with acknowledging that Satan would love to see us lay down a less destruction sin for a more destructive one.

So the point that makes this quote uncomfortable is that Lewis depicts it as Satan’s ultimate setup to get me to view sin as “beneath me.” I find myself internally torn on this one. My gut doesn’t automatically go where Lewis goes, but I agree with the point he’s making. I have given myself the “you’re better than that” pep talk to avoid sin.

As I wrestle with Lewis’ warning about pride, I realize there is a better pep talk to give (and receive). It is the “that is not who you are” talk. The first pep talk was focused on rank and status – better than. The latter is based on identity.

The difference, as I think Lewis would affirm, is that Jesus did not come to make much of me (rank and status) but to reside in me and adopt me (change my identity and name). When I get this I realize sin is not “beneath me” it is “outside of me.” I was born “in sin” and now I am “in Christ.”

The reason that sin is resisted has less to do with my dignity and everything to do with His. If I begin to think about my dignity, Satan has half the battle won. I am comparing sin to me. Sin does not appear nearly as sinful when I compare it with my nature.

The more I marvel at my nature, the dingier my nature becomes and the less I am looking to Christ as my righteousness. Disdain for every sin that is not actively relying upon Christ is the epitome of being a Pharisee—loving the laws that make me look good, because they make me look good and give me status.

If I were to summarize Lewis’s point and application, it would be: If Satan cannot get us to love self by sinning, then he is content to get us to love self by feeling superior to sin. God calls us to find life by denying self and, thereby, experiencing the freedom God intended.

An example might be helpful. Lewis says we can overcome cowardice by pride and this would be a bad thing. The problem would be that you would have to convince yourself you are “above” what you fear. If you fear rejection, then “it wouldn’t matter what people say.” This has the strong potential of giving us deaf ears to important messages of critique.

However, if what people say matters but does not define who I am, then I can be steadfast without the deafening influence of pride. I could face my fear as real, learning from my fear and the words of critique, without having to condemn myself or those who raise questions. That is the freedom of humility.

Forgiveness: If Received, Then Required

by brad on November 7, 2011 in Counseling Reflection with No comments

A Counselor Reflects on Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

“’Forgive us our sins as we forgive those that sin against us.’ There is no slightest suggestion that we are offered forgiveness on any other terms. It is made perfectly clear that if we do not forgive we shall not be forgiven. There are no two ways about it. What are we to do (p.116)?” Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

I once heard a pastor say that if he preached every sermon on forgiveness, he still would address the subject enough. Well, if he preached with this kind of punch, he also might not have a job. It’s not that I disagree with C.S. Lewis (or have the audacity to disagree with Jesus), but it just hurts to have this truth articulated in such a straight-forward manner.

The force of Jesus’ words reminds of us a central truth to our Christian walk – when we were forgiven we were purchased and therefore no longer belong to Satan or even ourselves (I Cor. 6:19-20). Jesus does not speak as a contractor making a recommendation about repairs to the owner of the house (our lives). Jesus speaks as the Builder and Twice-Owner (by creation and redemption) of the house (our lives).

We are like the renter who has been in a house for so long that we naturally call it our own and increasingly treat as our own, even though we know we pay the “rent” and not the “mortgage.” We are so comfortable in “our life” that when the Owner speaks we get offended and try to find a way to escort Him off His property.

In effect, the command to forgive is God saying, “I let you live morally rent free (paid daily by the blood of Christ), so I expect you not to charge anyone else moral rent. If you must, charge their moral rent to the same account that pays your own.” In that sense, it is actually a very, very kind command.

Think about it. What if someone offered to pay for your housing and their requirement of you was that if someone else ever owed you money to tell them to pay that debt too? Would you take the deal? The only reason that you would hesitate is to verify that it was a legitimate offer.

So when we are offended by the command to forgive others, it is us who have to answer the hard questions, not God. We have to explain how we feel justified in accepting free moral rent while trying to retain the “right” to charge others moral rent. Our indignation is actually our shame.

But that shame is covered with the same offer as our prior debt if we will humble ourselves and receive it. God is not a Landlord who delights in evicting his tenants (don’t stretch the metaphor to encompass the assurance of salvation). But rather God will forgive the debts of unforgiven-debts if we will surrender our perceived right to collect them.

The question becomes, “Who do we think we are?” If we are the same person who prayed “the sinner’s prayer,” then we are welcome to live in God’s provision all our life (temporal and eternal). However, if we believe we have become a different caliber of person, then we will live with all the moral, emotional, and relational “luxury” that our merit can provide. That is the equivalent of being homeless.

Live in grace and allow others to be your house guest.

Summit Counseling Training (Night One Videos)

by brad on November 4, 2011 in Audio File, Church Resource with No comments

“Eyes” of the Counseling Ministry – The presentation will cover two subjects. (1) The core values of the counseling ministry: Bible-based, Gospel-centered, differentiating sin and suffering, not one-size-fits-all, embedded within the church, and transitioning into the general small group ministry. Leaders need to understand how these values are embedded throughout the counseling materials. (2) How to avoid a struggle-based identity when using a struggle-specific curriculum.

“Our deepest problem is that we seek to find our identity outside the story of redemption (p. 27)… In fact, the longer we struggle with a problem, the more likely we are to define ourselves by that problem (divorced, addicted, depressed, co-dependent, ADD). We come to believe that our problem is who we are. But while these labels may describe particular ways we struggle as sinners [or sufferers] in a fallen world, they are not our identity! If we allow them to define us, we will live trapped within their boundaries. This is no way for a child of God to live (p. 260)!” Paul Tripp in Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hand

 

Session 1.
“What Is a Freedom Group?”
Purpose and Vision of Freedom Groups

Freedom Groups Training – Session 1 from The Summit Church on Vimeo.

 

Session 2
“What a Freedom Group is Not”
How to Avoid a Struggle-Based Identity

Freedom Groups Training – Session 2 from The Summit Church on Vimeo.

Handout for Night One, Session Two: WHO I AM IN CHRIST_KELLEMEN

Holiness: Set Apart on a Shelf vs. Set Apart for a Purpose

by brad on October 28, 2011 in Counseling Reflection with No comments

This post is meant to offer guidance to common “What now?” questions that could emerge from Pastor J.D.’s sermon on I Peter 1:13-21 preached at The Summit Church Saturday/Sunday October 29-30, 2011.

One of the primary meanings of the word holiness is “set apart.” But I think I have had a bad mental picture of what it means to be “set apart” for some time. My instinct was to think of what happened to the baseball with which a pitcher got the final out of a no-hitter.

That baseball would then be marked, set on a shelf, loved, shown to a few special friends, but would never again touch a leather glove in a live game. It ceased being a baseball and became a decoration. No baseball-related purpose remained in the “life” of that baseball.

I think we can create a similar image of what it means to be holy as Christians. We are marked (sealed with the Holy Spirit; Eph. 4:30), set apart, loved by God, talk about holiness with a few also-holy friends, but serve very little salt and light functions in a real world marked by darkness and decay.

If we think of holiness this way, then it would have a very awkward synonym – “useless ornament.” But in I Peter 1:13-21, where holiness is referenced four times in eight verses, there is no trace of this kind of passivity. Rather in verse 14 Peter says, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance.”

In this verse holiness is marked by activity, and worldliness is marked by passivity or mindlessness. First, Peter refers to his readers as “obedient children.” This means that holiness does something (obey) in response to life-defining relationship (child of God). With this in mind, holiness carries the connotation of being “set apart” in an orphanage because you have been adopted, and your life will be marked by a new name with all the opportunities afforded by that name, rather than it does with being a random baseball that was randomly selected for one pitch and then never functionally useful again.

Second, Peter portrays worldliness with passive language – sitting in the value-desire press of the influences around you, following them without thinking; like a goose flying south for the winter. With worldliness there is much less intentionality or passion (here used in the sense of pursuing or fulfilling something of unique value). It is the epitome of the herd effect.

So what should we do in response to this more accurate active, missional view of holiness? I will offer three responses that I believe are appropriate to being “set apart.”

Worship: We should celebrate like adopted children preparing to see their new home and meet their new extended family. It is an awesome privilege to be “set apart” that should cause our hearts to sing (whether our voices have the skill to bless others when they join in or not). God has done a great and gracious thing when He set us apart and we should respond daily like children on Christmas morning opening the gift of new mercies every morning.

Take On a New Identity: I remember one conversation with my father after a knuckle-headed action of my youth. His instruction to me was not a set of steps on how to avoid being knuckle-headed. He simply said, “Hambrick men don’t act that way.” I wish that statement were more true. “Hambrick men don’t have immunity to knuckle-headedness, but the principle of allowing your identity drive your activity was solid. Holiness is an identity before it is an activity. So, be who you are… in Christ!

Live as Exiled Ambassadors: This is the active component of holiness. We were “set apart” in a hostile world to be a part of God’s redemptive mission (this is the theme of I Peter as a whole). With all the tension implied in the phrase, we were both rescued from and left in the world. We were left in the world to be a continuation of the rescue mission that God began in us. When we value our freedom (by way of self-protection or personal convenience) more than the freedom of those around us (by living as local missionaries) we no longer bear the image of our adopted Father (Matt 22:37-40; 2 Pet. 3:9).

Let us be “Christ men” and “Christ women” (that is what being a “Christian” first meant; Acts 11:26) and recognize that our lives were set apart for the agents of His grace, not ornaments of His grace.

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