OPINION:
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal concluded that going to church has mental health benefits. Based on a growing body of research, the contention is that connecting with a spiritual community is good for you.
There are a few obvious and increasingly well-documented reasons for this. Community and relationships are good for us. A network of people who are invested in our well-being will build individual and group resilience, in addition to more emotional benefits like feeling safe, known and affirmed. The Wall Street Journal explores all of this quite thoroughly.
Subscribe to have The Washington Times’ Higher Ground delivered to your inbox every Sunday.
These findings then naturally lend themselves to us understanding not only the Christian community but also the impact of its central figure, Jesus.
Christians believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth to not only reconcile us to God but also to model how we humans should live our lives to the fullest.
By reading the Bible, we know the kind of person Jesus was — from the way he interacted with His disciples to the encounters He had with those who opposed Him. By participating in a church community, we can learn from others about how Jesus impacts His followers and gives meaning and direction to our lives and the lives of those around us.
And now by experiencing “The Chosen,” the multi-season television show about Jesus and His chosen followers, we can see that Jesus knows what we are going through because we can see Him experience love and loss, acceptance and rejection, joy and sorrow.
Four internal character capacities of Jesus
Why are so many people drawn to the person of Jesus, especially in times of struggle and difficulty? Because He was a perfect person who possessed every one of the essential internal character capacities – what any person needs to meet all of the demands of reality – of healthy people, regardless of where or when they were born. These four internal character capacities are an integral part of the personality of Jesus. People tend to be attracted to those individuals who can model and express the traits that they need to have, to navigate their own lives competently. Here is a brief description of the four capacities.
1. Jesus made attachments with others
The fundamental character capacity of healthy individuals is the ability to make safe, empathetic, and emotionally vulnerable attachments (another term for relationships). From birth throughout our entire lifespans, we are designed to connect, providing the relational nutrients of life to each other. We are drawn to those individuals who can make safe attachments with us, be present with us, and support us. They are a primary source of existence for us.
This characteristic is displayed in “The Chosen” when Mary Magdalene encounters Jesus for the first time. Jesus extends mercy and empathy to her, a demon-possessed woman when He calls her by her given name and declares, “I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine.” Mary experienced supernatural healing and immediately felt a connection because Jesus showed her support and made her feel safe.
2. Jesus was a separate person
Healthy humans attach well, but they also maintain their separateness. This is the character capacity to define oneself clearly, to own and express one’s voice, to set boundaries when they are needed, and to confront others in healthy ways. When we engage with individuals who can be both attached and separate, we desire to be near them because we trust them. We know who they are, where they are, and what their opinions are. They don’t become what they think we would want them to be. They are clear with the truth but with a tone of warmth rather than harshness.
Throughout Scripture, we see Jesus as the ultimate boundary-setter. He loves people without the temptation of being like them.
2. Jesus accepted imperfection in others
The character capacity of acceptance is the ability to live with the reality that people are both good and imperfect at the same time. Those with this capacity may not agree with an individual’s faults, but they don’t write that person off. They can live in what psychologists call “integration.” That is, they experience the entire person as a totality. We all know what it’s like to fail or lose and feel the pain of shame and self-judgment from our mistakes. We find ourselves moving toward those people who, while not denying the reality of our flaws, do not reject us in the way we reject ourselves. Instead, they extend forgiveness, care, and a new start.
We see this capacity in “The Chosen” when James, also known as Little James, asks Jesus why Jesus hadn’t healed him. Like the other disciples, Little James was commissioned by Jesus to cast out demons and heal others. Because of his disability, his question was reasonable, and it’s one that countless people ask today: Why hasn’t God healed me?
Jesus gives an answer that has comforted and inspired millions of people: “Just think how much more effective you will be, Little James, when someone like you heals people.”
In this one statement, and throughout Scripture, we do not see Jesus deny our imperfections, like physical flaws. Instead, Jesus fills His people with confidence and assures us that regardless of the plans we may have for our lives, all things will be used for His good.
4. Jesus lived as an adult
The character capacity of being an adult has to do with relating to others as a grownup rather than as a child. Children are unfinished and dependent, needing their parents to show them how to live. When the growth process works as it should, children become functioning adults. They have now determined their purpose, meaning, and career in life. They are comfortable being mutual and equal to other grownups, not one-down in insecurity or one-up in superiority. We are attracted to those with the adult character capacity because they inspire and help us to become all that we have the potential to be, which is to become adults in our life spheres, living with purpose and meaning.
Like every other character capacity, Jesus exhibited this one in full measure, and in many ways, it defined His earthly ministry. Jesus was, is, and forever will be a fully formed adult. Jesus knew exactly why God sent Him to earth. We also know that Jesus never intended to fulfill His purpose alone. He taught and equipped His chosen followers to embrace His purpose and share it with a world desperate for meaning.
Research demonstrates that there are mental health benefits to going to church. But it is also worth our time and interest to investigate who Jesus was as well, as we believe He is the founder and center of all that matters, including how our lives can be best lived.
–
Dr. John Townsend is a nationally known psychologist, author, and leadership consultant. He has written over 30 books, selling 10 million copies, including the New York Times bestselling Boundaries series. John founded and operates the Townsend Institute for Leadership and Counseling at Concordia University Irvine, and the Townsend Leadership Program.
Stan Jantz is the CEO of Come and See, a nonprofit that exists to reach a billion people with the authentic Jesus as portrayed in The Chosen. In addition to serving in leadership positions in the Christian publishing industry, Stan has written or co-written 75 books with more than 4 million copies sold. His latest title is Ten Essentials for New Christians.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.