Scripture tells us clearly and simply to “fix our eyes on Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.”  He is the beginning and the end of all that is good.  Jesus defines for us what it means to live the Blessed Life.  He models it for us, and makes it available to us.

When we look at Jesus we see several things come to light.  First, Jesus has a wonderfully deep and meaningful relationship with God.  Second, Jesus models good and healthy ways of relating to other people.  Third, Jesus has a clear and healthy sense of His own identity and person.  Finally, Jesus has a deep awareness of how to relate to the world around Him with purpose and goodness.

All of this is due to the simple fact that Jesus’ relationships are all defined by a set of character traits or virtues.  Jesus is the fullest and truest example of wisdom, justice, courage, self-control, faith, hope, and love.  His life and ministry are full of power, goodness, and freedom precisely because he is loving, hopeful, faithful, self-controlled, courageous, just, and wise.

Throughout church history this list of seven attributes or virtues have been compiled to help us clearly see the character of Jesus on display in each of His relationships; to God, others, Himself, and the world.  These attributes are present in the person of Jesus, and through Him, they are available to us.  We too can share in the Blessed Life!  We too can relate to God, others, self, and the world in ways that are marked by the seven virtues of Jesus.

Virtue is what happens when human desire aligns with God’s desire.  As one ancient Christian wrote, virtue is “rightly ordered love;” when we love what God loves, hate what God hates, think as He thinks, and act as He acts, that is virtue.  Vices, on the other hand, are the twisting of the human heart in such a way as to actually desire that which dishonors God, brings shame and destruction upon ourselves and others, and subjects the world around us to the powers of darkness.

Discipleship under Jesus is about the shaping and training of the human will in such a way that we would share the character of Jesus.  We turn now to a short study of the virtues of Jesus.