I firmly believe there are 12 different kinds of people. 4 aspects of humanity that have different variations. I don't think of this very much nor do I categorize different individuals and give them labels. I do however review this idea from time to time because I think it is good to keep in mind that although mankind has shared needs they also have different ways of processing their experiences.
These 12 types of people are characterized by Jacob's 12 children that became (in one form or another) the 12 Hebrew tribes. The family of Messiah was a family that represented all of humanity.
This morning I was looking at the uneven distribution of children in Jacob's family.
- Leah has 6 sons and 1 daughter.
- Zilpah had 2 sons, Bilah had 2 sons and Rachael had 2 sons.
So 6 tribes came from one mother and the other 6 were split between 3 mothers.
In my mind even though there are 12 types of people out there things are not broken out evenly. The majority of Jacob's sons came from Leah and the Bible describes her as a plump, happy and kind of passive baby making kind of person. She wasn't strikingly beautiful. She got a little competitive with her sister Rachael for a season but for the most part, she was a Godly content person and she wasn't out to change the world. The world is filled with Leahs and most of humanity is also. Messiah came from her line. Jesus is descended from Leah.
But then there are the other 6 children they are different. They have the same needs but they have different mothers. They are minorities in the way they think and relate. Every one of us is unique and special but we all know people that are just out there don't we? They are just coming at things from a different direction.
Why am I talking about this? Maybe just because I want to remind myself that we all have different perspectives. Jesus held the title, 'Son of Man' because he represented all of humanity fully. People who study personalities are baffled by the accounts of Him because He manifests the aspects of each known personality type. He was a unique sinless man. He was the second Adam and all of the genetics of all mankind came from the first one. He was the 'finger of God'. God himself taking on human form like a person who puts his finger into a glass of water. That finger enters that realm and God entered our realm of time and space in His incarnation.
We each are 1 of those 12 variants but in Christ each one of us can minister to all 12. He can minister through us. No matter how different or the same we are He Is our common ground. He levels the playing field even if it seems like there is an overwhelming weight on one side slanting everything one way.
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Showing posts with label Personality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Personality. Show all posts
Friday, October 5, 2018
Thursday, October 12, 2017
Negative Influences
Human beings use different language with different people. Some folks do it more than others. People may talk to parents one way but then use totally different language, words and phrases with a co-worker they barely know. It makes sense. We have all experienced it. We can say these are 'masks' and sometimes they are but it seems to go deeper than that. Children of divorce see it in parents that remarry people who have very different personalities than their original mate. Sometimes there are radical changes and that can be attributed partially to happiness levels. They were sad and frustrated in the first marriage but now they are happier so things have changed. Mood seems to be part of it but the bottom line is that for most people personality is plastic and it changes depending on who we spend time with. People 'bring out' aspects of who we 'are' or who we want to be.
"When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, 'I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.' Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: 'As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you...' " - Genesis 17:1-6 NKJV
God wasn't saying, 'Walk before me and be on your best behavior'. He was saying, 'I am giving you a new name because when you are with me you are blameless. In the KJV the word is translated 'perfect'.
When we walk with God it doesn't 'bring out the best in us'. No. If that is what is happening we are missing something vital. We have a new identity of perfection that He puts in us and it only comes out when we are with Him.
I think I have heard the phrase, 'I am going to remove all the negative influences from my life.' about 10 times just this week and I just can't get onboard with it. People get annoyed with me because I don't express overwhelming support but it just makes me sad and a little sick inside when I hear people try to go for a 'godless' solution that only sounds good on paper. Somehow people think that if they get rid of everything bad then only the good is what will remain and be strengthened but that is just not how life works.
Some people and situations are toxic and I am all for dealing with that if it is possible but that is an extreme surgical procedure and it is not the answer to most of life's problems. Surgery often means irreplaceable loss. People throw others away because they don't like who they are when they are with them.
The answer is to walk before God and 'be perfect'. That will mean saying 'no' to things but we are saying 'no' to the old because we have something new not because we are trying to purge the old to make something happen.
"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?" - James 4:7-12 ESV
Negative influences will flee from you and if they don't you will have the power of a person who is exalted by God. If you say, 'All you people are sucking the life out of me and I deserve better.' you are one step closer to becoming a person who sucks the life out of others.
They are not the problem. They will be replaced by other imperfect people who will disappoint you in some other way. It is just a matter of time. If we walk with God He will bring people into our life we won't have to look. He will do it.
"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." - John 1:12-13 KJV
I tried to use a more modern translation but they all take the word 'power' and translate it 'the right' and that just loses something. We have the 'power that authority gives us' to operate as children of God.
If we are stubborn and rigid people being around God brings out our new nature. If we are weak and wishy-washy we have a new life in God and His presence give us backbone.
God thinks you are perfect. Really. He thinks that because when you are with Him you are perfect. He gives that perfection as a gift to those who believe in His Son. If you are not 'with Him' you can't know who you really are but if you do walk with Him it won't matter what other people do or don't do... a kingdom will be walking with You.
--
"When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, 'I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.' Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: 'As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you...' " - Genesis 17:1-6 NKJV
God wasn't saying, 'Walk before me and be on your best behavior'. He was saying, 'I am giving you a new name because when you are with me you are blameless. In the KJV the word is translated 'perfect'.
When we walk with God it doesn't 'bring out the best in us'. No. If that is what is happening we are missing something vital. We have a new identity of perfection that He puts in us and it only comes out when we are with Him.
I think I have heard the phrase, 'I am going to remove all the negative influences from my life.' about 10 times just this week and I just can't get onboard with it. People get annoyed with me because I don't express overwhelming support but it just makes me sad and a little sick inside when I hear people try to go for a 'godless' solution that only sounds good on paper. Somehow people think that if they get rid of everything bad then only the good is what will remain and be strengthened but that is just not how life works.
Some people and situations are toxic and I am all for dealing with that if it is possible but that is an extreme surgical procedure and it is not the answer to most of life's problems. Surgery often means irreplaceable loss. People throw others away because they don't like who they are when they are with them.
The answer is to walk before God and 'be perfect'. That will mean saying 'no' to things but we are saying 'no' to the old because we have something new not because we are trying to purge the old to make something happen.
"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?" - James 4:7-12 ESV
Negative influences will flee from you and if they don't you will have the power of a person who is exalted by God. If you say, 'All you people are sucking the life out of me and I deserve better.' you are one step closer to becoming a person who sucks the life out of others.
They are not the problem. They will be replaced by other imperfect people who will disappoint you in some other way. It is just a matter of time. If we walk with God He will bring people into our life we won't have to look. He will do it.
"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." - John 1:12-13 KJV
I tried to use a more modern translation but they all take the word 'power' and translate it 'the right' and that just loses something. We have the 'power that authority gives us' to operate as children of God.
If we are stubborn and rigid people being around God brings out our new nature. If we are weak and wishy-washy we have a new life in God and His presence give us backbone.
God thinks you are perfect. Really. He thinks that because when you are with Him you are perfect. He gives that perfection as a gift to those who believe in His Son. If you are not 'with Him' you can't know who you really are but if you do walk with Him it won't matter what other people do or don't do... a kingdom will be walking with You.
--
Monday, January 9, 2017
Sober And Available
I had a short but powerful conversation with a Godly man before Church yesterday where we spoke about 'sober' living...
"For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep." - Romans 12:3-15 ESV
Intoxicated judgment has a strange self-image. Just like a person might be a 'happy' drunk or an 'angry' drunk. Inhibition is lowered and there is a mismanagement of spatial relationships.
Sober living lives with faith as a resource and because of that, there is a role and purpose for each person in every group.
"And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD." - Isaiah 11:2 ESV
The sevenfold ministry of God's Holy Spirit has liberty to operate.
"Each one of them went straight forward, without turning as they went. As for the likeness of their faces, each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle." - Ezekiel 1:9b-10 ESV
The faces of these angels represent four temperaments of ministry. The compassionate man... the royal lion... the faithful oxen... the soaring eagle...
"Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit," - Ephesians 5:17-18 ESV
The conclusion we came to is that 'sober' living is a good way to live. That measure of faith is the ingredient that pulls us out of our native personality and shapes us so that we are useful. We get our cues from God.
God may call us to be a bold lion today that is filled with compassion. Perhaps today is a day that calls for a cheerful eagle or maybe a merciful human being. The sober person isn't impaired with a fantasy so they are flexible and attentive to God's leading.
It is a new week and new mercy is waiting for us. There is manna to collect right outside your door and it will fill and satisfy your household. Let's go get it.
--
"For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep." - Romans 12:3-15 ESV
Intoxicated judgment has a strange self-image. Just like a person might be a 'happy' drunk or an 'angry' drunk. Inhibition is lowered and there is a mismanagement of spatial relationships.
Sober living lives with faith as a resource and because of that, there is a role and purpose for each person in every group.
"And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD." - Isaiah 11:2 ESV
The sevenfold ministry of God's Holy Spirit has liberty to operate.
"Each one of them went straight forward, without turning as they went. As for the likeness of their faces, each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle." - Ezekiel 1:9b-10 ESV
The faces of these angels represent four temperaments of ministry. The compassionate man... the royal lion... the faithful oxen... the soaring eagle...
"Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit," - Ephesians 5:17-18 ESV
The conclusion we came to is that 'sober' living is a good way to live. That measure of faith is the ingredient that pulls us out of our native personality and shapes us so that we are useful. We get our cues from God.
God may call us to be a bold lion today that is filled with compassion. Perhaps today is a day that calls for a cheerful eagle or maybe a merciful human being. The sober person isn't impaired with a fantasy so they are flexible and attentive to God's leading.
It is a new week and new mercy is waiting for us. There is manna to collect right outside your door and it will fill and satisfy your household. Let's go get it.
--
Thursday, June 9, 2016
Us And Them
'There are two types of people. Those who break everything into two types and those who don't.' -Unknown
I firmly believe there is only one type of person. Us. But there are polarizing forces and roads fork to go into different directions. The Bible gives us twelves tribes to examine in the Hebrew scriptures and they show us twelve personalities each derived from one of the twelve sons of Jacob. All the sons had one father but there were two different wives:
- Leah (Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah and later Issachar and Zebulun)
- Rachel (Joseph and she died after giving birth to Benjamin)
But the competition between the women to have children caused the wive's servants to get into the mix (and you think your family is strange).
- Bilhah, Rachel's servant, (Dan and Naphtali)
- Zilpah, Leah's servant (Gad and Asher)
The house was a two party system... team Leah and team Rachel. This verse gives a foundation for their relationship to Jacob.
"Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured." - Genesis 29:17 KJV
Kind and matronly versus va va va voom.
Human beings seem to gravitate towards party systems. Us and them. These and those. God gave a blanket promise that applied to all of Jacob's children.
"That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;" - Genesis 22:17 KJV
"And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake." - Genesis 26:24 KJV
Don't get me wrong. If I must label myself I would say that I am an evangelical. I believe in two eternal destinations. Heaven and Hell. You are either on the ark or in the flood. Up or down. I just don't believe that the people in the ark are different then the people outside of it. The thing that separates them is a choice.
When I am tempted to say, 'them' I check myself. We might have different mothers but every personality has the same father. I have an ark to run to and I want to be a person who runs out and brings people to the the only person who saves. There are no polarizing forces inside that boat everyone in there is riding out the storm with hope that they are all going to make it to the other side.
If I want to to understand and relate to a person then I must understand who their mother is. Knowing the forces that formed a person is part of caring for them but it doesn't stop there. Everyone who chooses Christ has a birth that completes them as a person.
Ultimately the seed of Abraham that was blessed is Jesus. Jesus brought blessing to that whole house retroactively. Jesus does the same for us... and them.
--
I firmly believe there is only one type of person. Us. But there are polarizing forces and roads fork to go into different directions. The Bible gives us twelves tribes to examine in the Hebrew scriptures and they show us twelve personalities each derived from one of the twelve sons of Jacob. All the sons had one father but there were two different wives:
- Leah (Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah and later Issachar and Zebulun)
- Rachel (Joseph and she died after giving birth to Benjamin)
But the competition between the women to have children caused the wive's servants to get into the mix (and you think your family is strange).
- Bilhah, Rachel's servant, (Dan and Naphtali)
- Zilpah, Leah's servant (Gad and Asher)
The house was a two party system... team Leah and team Rachel. This verse gives a foundation for their relationship to Jacob.
"Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured." - Genesis 29:17 KJV
Kind and matronly versus va va va voom.
Human beings seem to gravitate towards party systems. Us and them. These and those. God gave a blanket promise that applied to all of Jacob's children.
"That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;" - Genesis 22:17 KJV
"And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake." - Genesis 26:24 KJV
Don't get me wrong. If I must label myself I would say that I am an evangelical. I believe in two eternal destinations. Heaven and Hell. You are either on the ark or in the flood. Up or down. I just don't believe that the people in the ark are different then the people outside of it. The thing that separates them is a choice.
When I am tempted to say, 'them' I check myself. We might have different mothers but every personality has the same father. I have an ark to run to and I want to be a person who runs out and brings people to the the only person who saves. There are no polarizing forces inside that boat everyone in there is riding out the storm with hope that they are all going to make it to the other side.
If I want to to understand and relate to a person then I must understand who their mother is. Knowing the forces that formed a person is part of caring for them but it doesn't stop there. Everyone who chooses Christ has a birth that completes them as a person.
Ultimately the seed of Abraham that was blessed is Jesus. Jesus brought blessing to that whole house retroactively. Jesus does the same for us... and them.
--
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
A Good Companion For An Agitator
I'm reading Acts this morning. It is very encouraging. I decided to read the portion of acts that includes Silas. He is first mentioned here...
"Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers," - Acts 15:22 ESV
He travels with Paul on and off through Acts 18 and is last mentioned in Acts chapter 18 verse 5.
Paul can easily be described as an agitator. Trouble seems to go with him. Silas however seemed to be a good person for Paul to have around.
"And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words." - Acts 15:32 ESV
There were times that Paul had to leave a place because he had worn out his welcome but he could leave Silas there to edify, stabilize and continue the work.
"But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed." - Acts 17:13-15 ESV
Acts is such an interesting book. You can use it to build time lines and strategies. You can see patterns and then employ the methods you see to an outreach. Those are all valid uses of the book but this morning I am refreshed by the hearts of men who are going forward by faith. These men are very different from one another. They argue. They go to prison together. Some forge forward and others are left behind for a season. They are a team. Being on a team is awesome.
Paul eventually ends up in prison. I wonder what happened to Silas after Acts chapter 18. The scriptures don't mention him so we can't know for sure.
I pray that God raises up leaders for today that aren't afraid to shake things up. This morning I am also praying for men like Silas. Edifiers who will sing in the prison cells. Men who will stay in a place when the leader who shook things up must move on to the next destination.
The book of Acts has 28 chapters but in a way it is still being written. Men are still sent like Silas was sent. Men still teach. People go to prison and sing hymns.
The scripture gives us all we need. It is complete but history is still being written and different types of men and women are used by God. Silas was who he was. He made choices and we have choices to make. It's convicting to think about isn't it?
--
"Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers," - Acts 15:22 ESV
He travels with Paul on and off through Acts 18 and is last mentioned in Acts chapter 18 verse 5.
Paul can easily be described as an agitator. Trouble seems to go with him. Silas however seemed to be a good person for Paul to have around.
"And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words." - Acts 15:32 ESV
There were times that Paul had to leave a place because he had worn out his welcome but he could leave Silas there to edify, stabilize and continue the work.
"But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed." - Acts 17:13-15 ESV
Acts is such an interesting book. You can use it to build time lines and strategies. You can see patterns and then employ the methods you see to an outreach. Those are all valid uses of the book but this morning I am refreshed by the hearts of men who are going forward by faith. These men are very different from one another. They argue. They go to prison together. Some forge forward and others are left behind for a season. They are a team. Being on a team is awesome.
Paul eventually ends up in prison. I wonder what happened to Silas after Acts chapter 18. The scriptures don't mention him so we can't know for sure.
I pray that God raises up leaders for today that aren't afraid to shake things up. This morning I am also praying for men like Silas. Edifiers who will sing in the prison cells. Men who will stay in a place when the leader who shook things up must move on to the next destination.
The book of Acts has 28 chapters but in a way it is still being written. Men are still sent like Silas was sent. Men still teach. People go to prison and sing hymns.
The scripture gives us all we need. It is complete but history is still being written and different types of men and women are used by God. Silas was who he was. He made choices and we have choices to make. It's convicting to think about isn't it?
--
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Like Passions
"Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are" James 5:17a
If we go through life thinking everyone thinks and functions just like we do then we will have many misunderstandings. Human needs are the same but the ways people cope with those difficulties is varied at best. I subscribe to the twelve personality type theory. Four temperaments with three variations each. I think this proves out Biblically and can be seen clearly in biology and anthropology.
Yet, While we should recognize the differences we also recognize the similarities. The "passions", the needs and situations we end up in are common to every person. We can celebrate our diversity and our commonality and should in a manner. God has made people wonderfully and He celebrated his own handiwork (see Genesis 1:31).
It is funny. The experts, those who study these four temperaments all their nuances, when given the Gospel accounts and Jesus as a case study begin to marvel. Christ might as well be the shroud of Turin to these people because He defies categorization. Not in the way that a fictional character would being inconsistent in personality but in a glorious way that only a perfect man would exhibiting the strengths of each without a flaw.
"As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption." 1 Cor 15:48-50 NKJV
The amazing thing is that we as individuals with varying personalities now have incredible commonality in Christ. A commonality that doesn't "dumb us down." It doesn't tell us to be all the same or drive us to magnify our differences. There is a graciousness of mind and an elegance of thought that can dwell in the individual hidden in the Savior that can give us the ability to cope with and appreciate everyone else.
"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" Eph 4:11
God wants to grow "us" with all our complexity and individuality into one that has abundant fruitfulness in love and all the qualities of love. Grace gives us the freedom to be who we are in this new man's image.
We can be like a glove that God's hand slips comfortably into.
If we go through life thinking everyone thinks and functions just like we do then we will have many misunderstandings. Human needs are the same but the ways people cope with those difficulties is varied at best. I subscribe to the twelve personality type theory. Four temperaments with three variations each. I think this proves out Biblically and can be seen clearly in biology and anthropology.
Yet, While we should recognize the differences we also recognize the similarities. The "passions", the needs and situations we end up in are common to every person. We can celebrate our diversity and our commonality and should in a manner. God has made people wonderfully and He celebrated his own handiwork (see Genesis 1:31).
It is funny. The experts, those who study these four temperaments all their nuances, when given the Gospel accounts and Jesus as a case study begin to marvel. Christ might as well be the shroud of Turin to these people because He defies categorization. Not in the way that a fictional character would being inconsistent in personality but in a glorious way that only a perfect man would exhibiting the strengths of each without a flaw.
"As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption." 1 Cor 15:48-50 NKJV
The amazing thing is that we as individuals with varying personalities now have incredible commonality in Christ. A commonality that doesn't "dumb us down." It doesn't tell us to be all the same or drive us to magnify our differences. There is a graciousness of mind and an elegance of thought that can dwell in the individual hidden in the Savior that can give us the ability to cope with and appreciate everyone else.
"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" Eph 4:11
God wants to grow "us" with all our complexity and individuality into one that has abundant fruitfulness in love and all the qualities of love. Grace gives us the freedom to be who we are in this new man's image.
We can be like a glove that God's hand slips comfortably into.
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