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TechnoratiThe holidays have ended and it is time once again to leave behind the festivities and fellowship so unique to this wonderful time of year. I confess that for me this is difficult. I love the Christmas season and everything about it—the weather, the carols, the gatherings with family and friends; it is simply my favorite time of year. There is something wonderfully nostalgic about Christmas (at least for me) that produces a potent mixture of good feelings. Christmas offers a time of intimacy and fellowship with family and neighbor that restores my soul in so many ways but sadly it is a time that passes quickly and so I find myself once again in the pull of everyday life with all of its pressures and challenges.
However, as much as I may want to remain within this psychological and spiritual refuge I cannot nor can any of us. We simply cannot remain in seclusion from the world if we love Christ for it is into this fallen world—with its warring forces—that the church is sent.
More than two millennia ago, the prophet Jeremiah warned the Israelites that the prophets and priests were falsely proclaiming that “all is well” saying, “They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace.” (Jeremiah 6:14)
We, very much like the Israelites have also been lulled into believing that all is well within the church. On the surface, Christianity in America appears to be intact, we still see churches in our communities; if we are Christian we are involved in our local churches and the growth of mega-churches might serve as an encouraging indicator. However, this is the view from within the Christian subculture. A quick survey of the prevailing culture reveals near disregard for the Christian faith and outright dismissal of its claims of truth about everything from sexual morality to the incarnation. As Paul Weyrich, a major architect of the religious right conceded while speaking on the failure of politics said, “We are caught up in a cultural collapse of historic proportions.” The church in America has clearly lost the culture.
It is this reality that we must now return to because the “wound” apparent in the American Church is indeed serious and our natures are such that we tend to minimize the spiritual complacency present in our own lives and among God’s people. We say to ourselves (and each other), “peace, peace” as if all is well because the reality makes us too uncomfortable. The present truth demands more of us than we are often prepared to give. If we’re honest, we mostly hope for lives uninterrupted by trial and tribulation. We rarely seek to throw ourselves unreservedly into the cause of Christ. We assume that such selfless devotion will erase all comfort in our lives and we demand comfort!
I confess, this is a temptation for me as well because the daily reality of this ministry is at times overwhelming. But, I am reminded that our Savior bore the ultimate burden and because He did we have been set free from the sin that “so easily entangles us.” We no longer live in subjection to the fallen world but instead are called to live in submission to the loving King who has overcome the world. We are His and He is ours and through Him we are more than conquerors sent to press His truth into every aspect of life and culture as He brings forth His kingdom! This is the task to which we must return as we begin a new year. Continue >>
Megs »
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