TO FILL A LITTLE SPACE

Although the Gospel of Christ remains the dynamite of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16), much of what Christianity displays in this 21st century is often devoid of true power. A faith which is characterized by the blood shed for the remission of sins, quite frequently shows more signs of anemia than of vitality. And to the extent it remains so, it will have no lasting effect in the world.

It is not the names which individuals may ascribe to themselves that count; it is the transformation a life consistently manifests that makes a difference. Indeed, being a Christian does not signify a mere exchange of label, but a noticeable alteration of life. The biblical imperatives of repentance and faith are often substituted by signing a card, walking forward, or receiving baptism, with little, if any, genuine change of mind and of conduct.

More and more one finds ministries adapting themselves to the world instead of challenging current values and claims. There is more imitation of contemporary mores rather than a clear display of the uniqueness of Christian faith.

Just think: if the church offers what society already cherishes, there will be little or no motivation for radical change. Some contemporary Christian leaders may be taking their clues from a wrong script, instead of receiving their orders from God’s unchanging truth.

It is true that in His days on earth Christ fellowshipped with many who were the scum of the earth, such as publicans, prostitutes, and other types of sinners. Yet, His intent was never to leave them in their current, chaotic condition; His purpose was one of rescuing each from the devastating effects of their miscalculated, erroneous choices.

Many segments of the Church today are far too comfortable in the world and, thus, cannot challenge the ways of secular culture which many have already adopted as their own. Yet, Christians are to find their identity in Christ alone, not in the passing fads of any age! As Dick Keyes posits, “Jesus calls us to maintain our dissonant relationship to the world without rigidity or isolation from it.”

Christians are and shall always be “strangers and pilgrims” on earth; their presence in any society is to transform it. As salt and light, Christians are not to accomodate themselves to the agenda which the world attempts to impose on many of its inhabitants. God’s people are to challenge all assumptions and consistently offer a better alternative - the way of Christ, which provides life abundant on earth and the assurance of life everlasting in heaven!

An easy faith will never challenge a follower into continual growth, nor motivate the acquisition of new dimensions of faith to be applied to every facet of life and work. And people who remain content with the status quo shall fail to go and grow, as they can and must!

This entry was posted on Monday, April 7th, 2008 at 3:24 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.