By Kirsten
This Missional Church class is probably the most convicting “sermon” series I have heard in years. If I am to be completely honest, my walk with Christ has been marked by several lapses into outright sinful living. Like many Christians, and if I am to guess correctly, mostly Christians in the West, I struggle to maintain a life of purity in the midst of a culture and church that doesn’t really value righteous living.
There has been a disconnect in my mind between Jesus’ words “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48) and the reality of Paul’s words “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” (Romans 7:15). I used to believe that once people became Christians, perfection followed. Righteousness has always been to me some kind of trophy to be won and put on a shelf which I would dust off once a year, which is a mindset that has often left me frustrated.
It wasn’t until today that something clicked. In class, I found out that righteousness can also be translated as justice. The reason why this is so profound is because justice goes beyond what Jesus can do only for me, but what His Spirit seeks to work out for all people. I have struggled for years to understand how to 
focus my attention outside of myself in order to love God and people better. What has been severely lacking is a deeper understanding of the gospel message, and of righteousness. Jesus’ gives a call to his disciples in Matthew 28: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” This message to serve all people, so they too can enjoy in the riches of God’s mercy and righteousness, is humbling and beautiful. It is far more exciting to know that God is working for more than just me.
It is exciting to see all the ways in which God is working in the communities around us and not just in our own life. We often make our faith about a personal relationship with God and not something public that affects all areas of our life. Seeing righteousness as working for justice takes the focus away from ourselves and puts it on the work of God and how we can join him in this work.
Kirsten,
I have also appreciated the new perspective on justice. When we read righteousness as justice, we start to have a more outward focus on the gospel. It is no longer about our personal righteousness and becoming more like God but serving the community and together working for justice.
Amen Kirsten,
I admire your cohesive compilation of this struggle! I do believe that if every Christian in the West were honest about this struggle we would have deep conversations. Our conversations would not simply be ‘Well, no one can be perfect. Just do your best.’ and we would truly seek to become more incarnational in EVERY aspect of our lives! And you know what? If we were more open about our failures, we would actually know how to better serve each other as missionaries in our world. FURTHER we would not appear to be righteous knotheads in the eyes of those who have not yet been inspired by the Gospel and the Holy Spirit 🙂
I admire your honesty! And I stand in the same boat with that struggle.