Matching Nouns & Verbs
Identity is more about behaviors than badges. How we are seen carries more weight than the label we wear. So, before choosing a title, choose a set of actions⏤actions that prompt interactions. Then make the noun match the verbs. People like us do things like this.
His Inner Circle
The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. — 1 Samuel 16:7b
What does the spiritual person look like? Many inside the Church, and outside it, idealize the quiet, introspective, contemplative person. But Jesus' inner circle is a profile in passion, zeal, and assertiveness. Peter was brash, impulsive, impetuous. James and John were called the "Sons of Thunder." Outgoing and committed to their Master. Jesus sees differently than we do.
Trained by Christ
If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him. ⏤ John 14:7
Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. ⏤ John 5:19
When we think of being trained by Christ, we may go to the Sermon on the Mount, the Great Commandment, and the Great Commission. But maybe there's something even more fundamental. Could we let Jesus train us in our knowing?
- love
- Holy Spirit
- humility
- church
- politics & society
- mission & witness
- holiness
- parable & metaphor
- identity
- eternal life
- doubt & deconstruction
- leadership
- grace
- justice
- scripture
- spiritual life
- advent & christmas
- poverty & compassion
- imagination & creativity
- technology & ai
- knowing God
- human dignity
- faith & trust
- incarnation & cross
- kingdom of God
- community
- reconciliation
- spiritual formation
- epistemology
- prayer
- gratitude
- culture
- creation & nature
- discipleship
The God of the Bible looks like Jesus, the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being. It would be just like him to go to the cross.