Story of my life

Psalm 141:2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,
and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!

Sometimes I get into these really weird kicks where I have to write. It's kind of awesome, but a little annoying at times (like when I have school work to get done). Fortunately, this week is a little bit lighter on the workload, so I'm cut a break. It's really bad when I have strong urgings to write but my schedule conflicts. Writing is extremely cathartic for me; it's my chance to write down thoughts swirling around in my head.

Sometimes my thoughts are pointless.

But not right now.

I have this strong desire to get this off my chest. It's been something that I've been working on for some time now, and I've been trying to figure out the best way to say it. So I'll just jump straight to my point: what does righteousness look like?

It's kind of a tough topic to write on because it's very open-ended. Righteous living, thanks to post-modernism, is completely subjective. My version of righteousness is different than yours.

Okay, so where am I supposed to find a definitive version of righteousness? Let's start with the Book of Romans...Romans is said to be the most systematized theology in the Bible. Romans goes into great details about what it means to be righteous. If you haven't read it, I would if you want kind of an "overview" of Christianity.

N.T. Wright notes that Romans is

"...neither a systematic theology nor a summary of Paul's lifework, but it is by common consent his masterpiece. It dwarfs most of his other writings, an Alpine peak towering over hills and villages. Not all onlookers have viewed it in the same light or from the same angle, and their snapshots and paintings of it are sometimes remarkably unalike. Not all climbers have taken the same route up its sheer sides, and there is frequent disagreement on the best approach. What nobody doubts is that we are here dealing with a work of massive substance, presenting a formidable intellectual challenge while offering a breathtaking theological and spiritual vision."

So just the size alone of the letter should speak to its importance. It has been an invaluable piece of literature for the church, and it should be one that we need to revert back to if we are to find a real definition of righteousness. Three chapters into the epistle, we find what Paul thinks is righteousness: belief and life in Christ.

Righteousness is an interesting topic for me especially because I definitely don't think that I have been living the life that God called me to live. I know that I have sinned time and time again. But I really wish that I didn't. I really wish that I could live a "just" life.

The church is supposed to also be a righteous dwelling. The Greek word for church is actually a derivative of being called out, so it is the church's role to be set apart from the world (another way of saying sanctify). Sanctification is the act of becoming holy or righteous. I think I'm in this life of sanctification. I'm not anywhere near where I need to be as far as my spiritual life is concerned. I have much to do.

But I also think that the church has a long way to go. People should leave church better than they were before. The church is the intersection of heaven and earth, where God meets with us. It should be a little bit different than the world. We should be reaching for something greater than just the status quo. The church should not just be a safe place for all. Yes, make it open to all sinners. But we should all be living lives that signify our distinction from the world.

I want my life to be something holy. I'm going to mess up. The church is going to mess up. But we shouldn't just settle for that. We need to progress.

"Go and sin no more."