Our Strengths are Made in God's Image

[Trey Finley]

I'm going to make an attempt in the next few blog posts, an attempt at verbalizing a "theology of strength." Like all good theology, I'm going to start with theology proper--the investigation of God, Who He is, Who He was, and Who He will be. Woven throughout the conversation today will be an anthropology--an understanding of who we are made to be.

I Am Who I Am. I Will Be Who I Will Be.

A theology of strengths begins with a recognition that God reveals himself, even if that revelation raises as many questions as it answers. And so we tell stories of a God who knew a man, his sons, his grandsons, and their children as he had known no other. We recount stories of conquest, of defeats, of travels, and of wandering. These stories mince no words--many of the main characters struggle to understand Who God is, and what He is doing. Abraham bargained with God. Jacob wrestled him. Moses argued with him. Yet in spite of our narratival attempts to make sense of a God who is Wholly Other, our understanding of Him remains incomplete.

This give and take between God and humanity begs the question: "Why would humanity continue to seek a God it struggled to understand, to meet, and to commune with?" The story of God and humanity is one of common pursuit. God has pursued humanity to accomplish his desires for creation. Humanity has pursued God out of a divine gift/curse--the recognition that there is Other yet not always certain where we must go to discover it. In its best moments, this common pursuit has resulted in unexplainable peace, serenity, joy, an power. In its worst moments, it has looked suspiciously like a divine game of "Marco!....Polo!"

One answer to the question of our ongoing pursuit: that in God, there is something hidden,something that tells us who we are, who we are made to be, and gives us just a glimpse of what is best in us. We hunger to know what is good about us. God uses this hunger to his advantage, that we might look for him, and to seek him where he may be found. The beauty of this search is that God has been found in many places throughout Scripture and history--in burning bushes, pillars of fire, mysterious persons, literature, music, nature, kings, shepherds, stars, and the list goes on. In short, where there is Good, there is God.

In humanity, there is Good. Strengths are a language that gives us words to describe what is Good about us, and in so doing, points us to the small piece of Himself that God has placed in each of us. As such, they are an anthropomorphism of God's traits and qualities. Naming our strengths opens a door to meeting place between our poor imperfect view of ourselves and God's majestic tapestry intricately woven through our very being. Strengths are a "burning bush moment." They are a place where humanity and God may meet, and where if only for a moment, we can see God powerful in us.

Strengths-based Coaching is a search for what is Good about each of us, a search for God's creative power displayed mightily in an individual. It is a compass for pursuing that which God has placed within us. Living in our strengths is a spiritual discipline in this sense. It is a life-long pursuit of carving a masterpiece from the rough stone given us by God.

Part Three Coming...taking God's divinity within us into the world which he created.

[James Nored]

Trey,

I like this statement that you make: "In humanity, there is Good. Strengths are a language that gives us words to describe what is Good about us, and in so doing, points us to the small piece of Himself that God has placed in each of us."

I like this for a couple of reasons. First, I am a big fan of the Strengths Finder survey. I use this and Spiritual gifts assessments in coaching. Second, I try to emphasize that God created humanity "very good" from Genesis 1, and it is "good" to see Strengths as part of God's goodness that he has bestowed upon us.

I'll look forward to your continued sharing of Strengths theology and practice.