Three Ways to Maneuver a Cultural Shift

 

Those of us who follow Christ are not traversing unaware into the post-Christian world. We’re only human, so at times we tend to recoil when suffering the in-your-face demands of those at the forefront of our changing society. My own views filter through the lens of the Western Church. As an American Christian, I grew up during the era when all the world believed this was the greatest country on earth. Or at least, we assumed they believed it. Now, people around the world, as well as those from among our own citizenship, no longer believe in America, or God. At times we feel they’ve shoved their rights, their goals, and their philosophies ahead of ours. So, how do we navigate the turmoil? Here are three ways to maneuver through the muck, rather than sink into it.

1     Remember who you are.

If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. John 15:19

Yes, we are a part of the family of humanity. We’re earth dwellers, but this is not our home and we can’t expect everyone to like us, support our cause, or follow our rules. Before we were redeemed, we were just as lost as the angry, depraved people who’ve managed to frustrate us with their unrelenting demands. It doesn’t matter if we weren’t as bad, we were absolutely as lost. They can’t help but hate us, but we don’t have to return hatred to them. Let go of the frustration and show a little kindness. We might not stop a cultural shift, but we can still shine a light in the darkness.

2      Remember where your loyalty lies.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. 
1 John 2:15-17

Okay, I’m proud to be an American. But it’s not my doing, so I don’t boast in it. God gave me life at a certain point in history, in a specific place. I’m not ungrateful. I simply don’t own it. The will of the people has at times throughout our history become ungodly, and yet God has blessed us. He chose to build this nation to increase His Kingdom, and from our shores the gospel has gone out across the world. For that reason, my pride rests more in Christ, and less in patriotism. That’s not to say I won’t stand up for what is right. For the time being, we still live in the Republic of the United States of America. I’ll still vote, pray for our leaders, and hope for our survival as a nation. But the things of this world will pass away.

3     Remember your destination.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 
Revelation 7: 9,10

The ultimate culture shifter is God. No matter how hard we fight for our rights, we will live or die by His sovereignty. He has determined right from wrong, and no amount of raging over the face of the earth will alter His opinion. The core of humanity is in a battle to create a new world for itself. But this is His world, past, present, and future. The world to come will be filled with a great number from all kinds of people whom He chose to redeem. They will come from every nation, tribe, and tongue. Every political affiliation? Every boundary-pushing movement? Will God redeem souls from among those who hate us? Who distort morality? From the loud, contemptuous public voices that cry out against Him? The shifters are in God’s hands, and He will do with them as He will. Does that mean He might use those of us who are redeemed to draw His adversaries to Himself? Of course, it does. Pray for your enemies. They could become your brothers and sisters.

Maneuvering the cultural shifts of this world might seem overwhelming, but if we’re standing on the right foundation, we will not be shaken. We are His. We’re loyal to His Kingdom. And we’ll soon be going home. Perhaps we need a shift in focus. The outlook of the Western Christian sometimes becomes “me” centered rather than Christ centered. But it isn’t our story. It’s His story. And this isn’t our battle. The battle is the Lord’s, our redeemer and refuge.

If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31

Absolute Rest for Your Soul

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 

These words follow a prayer in which Jesus praises His Father for revealing the secret things of God, not to the wise or accomplished, but as to children, meek and unspoiled. This wasn’t meant to exclude anyone. Assuring the hope of the Gospel for everyone, Jesus begins His invitation with the most inclusive words: “Come to me, all…”

The great proclamation of rest and release is one that most believers have memorized and clung to with deep hope. It is the exhale, the sigh of relief, the respite from strife. So easily applied to our own daily struggles, the words give us permission to take a timeout. No matter the nature of it, work is hard. It weighs us down, whether physically or mentally. We all need a minute or two to rest our weary bones, to cease from the struggle. We can’t hold up under the pressure of what we’ve brought on ourselves, and we need God to give us a break.

Wait. Is that what Jesus said? Maybe, right now, that’s what you need to hear, and that’s okay. But it’s much, much more. It’s so grand and glorious that we have to step back and view it from a broader plain. Its promise is rich and eternal, and we can’t process it as simply a way to get through our current insufferable predicament. Its message carries us beyond the physical and mental, to the spiritual. We must, to find absolute rest, believe the instruction completely and apply it comprehensively. 

The first people to hear the bidding to come and rest were steeped in the tradition of God’s covenant with Israel. Imagine their burden. All they knew was to follow the law. All of it. Every degree that to us seems to demand the impossible. It was, for the children of Israel, a heavy burden, too great to bear. But then this Teacher, or Prophet, or Son of the Living God— if He was to be believed—came with something new. Something unheard of. In essence, Jesus told His listeners to stop struggling. No need to keep trying to work it out. He was about to take care of it once and for all.

Did those who heard this news understand the fullness of the repose that was about to be given to them? It was a gift, not to be earned, requiring nothing except to come and rest.

Now, perhaps we have forgotten what those souls of Israel once knew. We can’t truly grasp what it was like to live under the burden of the law. But we do know that the law points us to Christ. We know the cross and the empty tomb. We know redemption. We have a Savior. And we can rest in Him.

Can we ask God for rest from what this world bombards us with day to day? Of course. But it’s not everything. In comparison, it’s really not anything, for this world will soon pass away. It is the burden of sin that’s too heavy, the yoke of the law that’s impossible for us to bear on our own. But the way of Jesus is light. His yoke on us is that we simply believe. His heart toward us is gentle. He rescued us by becoming a humble servant. That’s where we find rest for our souls, our eternally free, unchained souls. If we don’t have to work for it, what reason could there be not to rest in it? The yoke and the burden are no longer ours. They are His. Praise God and breathe that long awaited sigh of relief.