So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
-2 Corinthians 5:16-20
“What is the world coming to?!”
“It’s the media!”
“It’s this next generation!”
“People buy too much!”
“People eat too much…”
“People don’t care for each other like they used to…”
When we feel like the world is going to pieces quite often the response is like that of the knights in Monty Python and the Holy Grail when they encountered the “most cruel and bad –tempered, killer rabbit with a vicious streak a mile wide” ——RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!
And sometimes people do. Occasionally literally, but more often than not we metaphorically take refuge in our church’s lingo and inner circle of people just like us. It feels safer that way. More predictable. And within the security of those circles we can glance outward clucking our tongues, casting a downward glance at ‘those people,’ and keep our distance from any people or situations that may give the impression of unseemly impurity.
“It’s us against the world!” Becomes the rallying cry. Which would make sense— if we weren’t such active participants in that world.
You see, every day we have the opportunity to contribute to the culture we want to be a part of—a Kingdom in which we want to dwell. It’s not the time to passively bemoan our surroundings as though the entertainment, food, government, education system, and economic structures are something wholly distinct from the church. We feed into the culture, we consume the culture, we live each and every day in the world around us and it is precisely HOW we choose to live that indicates whether or not our lives are glorifying God or still chained to our own self-indulgences and ‘former way of life’ (Ephesians 4:22-24).
Our call is to live faithfully, diligently, and joyfully while casting the most critical glances away from the ‘other’ and inwardly toward our own wandering hearts. The well of grace is deep and everlasting, a well from which we all must drink deeply while extending that to others. Such nourishment is quite counter-cultural in and of itself, and yet can be transformative to a dry and dusty land with parched inhabitants.
We are called to the same world to which Christ was sent. A world that is broken and hurting. Not to condemn, but to offer hope, to point people back to the God who offers salvation, redemption, and new life for all. People need hope. And people need hope in One who is faithful and will deliver the people day by day, minute by minute, into a full and abundant life.
It’s good news and news people need to hear. Jesus, God in the flesh, coming into the world serving, living, and dying so that people might live. That’s how God so loved the world. Go and do likewise. Die to self. Love others sacrificially. Offer your all to God. Create the world you want to live in as a child of God. Extend mercy, grace and forgiveness. Let the Spirit of God dwell within you so that the fruit of the Spirit flows through your life like a channel, watering the thirsty world.
And be not afraid. For God is with you. Be leaven, be light, be salt, be in the world even as your allegiance belongs to another Kingdom, another Lord. The God of eternal “I love yous” and whose grace is sufficient, the Almighty Creator of All who gives you the call is sending you. Therefore Go! Make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit. The world is waiting and people are hoping for messengers of Good News— and remember that Christ is with you, even unto the end of the age.
Extending His Peace,
Pastor Nicole Jones