meditatio at the water's edge

I've been doing some thinking on the relationship between vocation, giftedness, and character. Dallas Willard said something about giftedness not producing character. I think one difference between them is that in giftings, God does for us what we cannot produce. God gives it independent of our efforts. Character, however, God does not impose on us. We must do the necessary things to develop our character (Col 3:1-17)--and yet even then it isn't entirely of ourselves.

Maybe it is like learning to dance: You need someone to lead, but you still have to move your own feet.

As I write this, I realize how indebted I am to Dallas for this image of dancing. I think he was talking about grace and said that grace is never entirely active or passive: much like dancing. If you've ever tried dancing with someone who was either entirely active or entirely passive, you know that it doesn't work very well. Funny stuff.

Thanks Dallas.