“Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 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. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 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.” (Rom. 5:1-5, NRSV)
This passage reveals clearly how God grows his people: on a foundation of grace (1-2) and through a process of suffering which produces endurance, which produces character, which produces hope (3-5). I want to focus specifically here on character.
Character is actually “proven character” in this passage. The King James Version has “experience” and The Message has the “tempered steel of virtue.” The Greek literally means the experience of being proved. In other words, “seasonedness” or, again, proven character.
All this brings up an interesting question: How can you tell a person’s true character?
In the early eighties, I had a unique and dear friend, Dave Andersen, who attended my graduation with my sister in platform shoes, a suit, and a gorilla mask. Most of the time, however, he wore shoulder length hair and an army jacket. He introduced me to the classic Bond movie, Thunderball, and taught me how to use a chainsaw. He had a strong work ethic, a wild and crazy side, and carried his faith with more substance than style. I learned many things from Dave about making people smile, being my own man, and doing things to love God and people quietly. For Dave, the goal was to show mercy and grace in ways that were usually not noticed. In one instance, he secretly put oil in the tank of a single mom who had no heat.
There is one “Dave” story that captures part of the essence of this idea of proven character. Dave was visiting a younger college student at a conservative Bible college in upstate New York. It was a strict, one-year intensive program that put great emphasis on “looking like a Christian.” For men, this was defined as short, cropped-behind-the-ear hair and extra godly points if you wore a suit and tie. Training at this school included learning how to share your faith in a bold, confrontational strike-team manner. Simple evangelistic methods like the Four Spiritual Laws and the Romans Road applied in cookie-cutter ways were especially popular. One day, while Dave and his friend were visiting, an erstwhile freshman saw Dave with his long hair and army jacket and thought his divine moment had come. Maybe he could get a scalp on his belt for Jesus. He approached Dave with great eagerness and said, “Excuse me, sir, but are you a Christian?” Dave turned, looked him in the eyes, and with his characteristic ornery grin said, “Why don’t you stick around for a while and find out!”
What was his point? Christianity is a way of life not a formula prayer that gets you into heaven. Further, the genuineness of a person’s Christian character shows up in how they live over time, and certainly not in the length of their hair or how they dress.
We have all lived long enough to know that a person’s circumstances can make him or her bitter or better. And yet, really, a man’s circumstances don’t make him what he is as much as they reveal who he is.
When it comes to the true character of our faith, 1 John 2:19 is sobering:
“They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But by going out they made it plain that none of them belongs to us.”
This passage teaches that true believers want to hang around Jesus’ people, be led by good pastors and teachers, and take communion regularly. The bottom line is that they want to be near the body and blood of the Lord and the people Jesus died for. Yes, they may get angry and even leave the church for a time—maybe even for good reasons, but in the end the true nature of their faith will show up in their character and actions. This is what Eugene Peterson calls “a long obedience in the same direction.” He writes,
“There is a great market for religious experience in our world; there is little enthusiasm for the patient acquisition of virtue, little inclination to sign up for a long apprenticeship in what earlier generations of Christians called holiness.”[1]
May God give you strength today to endure your sufferings. Further, may he give you the grace to stick around for a while and wait for the “tempered steel of virtue” he is surely working in your life.
[1] Eugene H. Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society (Downers Grove, IL: IVP), 16.