When we follow Jesus we go against the grain of the culture—whatever the culture. The values and “The Way” of Jesus is always contra-cultural. The word church literally means “the called out ones”.
The problem is that many churches and church folks have ceased to have an impact as “salt and light” because we are indistinguishable from the culture around us. My friend Charlie recently reminded me that “Christians will never make a difference in the world by walking, talking, dressing and drinking like the masses.”
Things haven’t changed much since the early days of the church some 2,000 years ago. The Apostle Peter reminded his readers:
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, nobodies, but now you are “The People of God”; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from fleshly lusts and desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the unbelievers that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day Jesus comes again in judgment,” (1 Peter 2:9-12)
On one occasion the crowds who heard Paul and Silas preach started a riot, accusing them of being troublemakers and “turning the world upside down”. (Acts 17:1-8)
We are “aliens and strangers” in the culture, and as we live out the values of Jesus we will have the effect of turning the culture upside down, challenging its values, habits and assumptions about life—kind of a far cry from the prosperity-gospel-televangelists whose messages dovetail with the American Dream of material gain and self indulgence.
Jesus forgives us and makes us Somebodies, and then we go around singing the praises of this One who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. Our lives then reflect His light and we stand in contrast to the culture around us. Does Jesus make a noticeable difference in the way you live, talk, dress and drink?
~ Father, help me to live an upside-down life following The Way of Jesus. Amen.
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2 comments:
That's an incredibly hard question to answer sometimes. Many times I'm not sure whether or not people see Jesus in what I do anymore because I've done it that way for so long....do they see that it's Jesus, or just my habits and rituals?? I try continually to make it obvious that its not a ritual, but rather an act of praise, but for nonbelievers, sometimes that's a hard concept to convey...
Josh,
Yeah, that's a tough one. Sometimes we try so hard to blend in that we don't have much chance of standing out. But if the Spirit of Jesus is IN US it just comes out naturally. Jesus said they will know we are His disciples by our love...for other believers and non-believers.
Maybe it's not so much about doing as it is about being.
PJ
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