I was visiting with a dear friend today who mentioned the difference between what she called "cultural Christianity," adapting Christianity to fit within one's own cultural context, and "Cross Christianity," allowing the Cross of Christ to redefine us within our cultural context. In other words, I don't want to make Jesus fit the demands of my world; I want to allow Him to change me and bring His life into my world.
It is a fascinating topic for me, as I've been able to observe the unintentional damage done when well-meaning groups have brought the gospel prepackaged along with their own cultural norms. It's like diluting Living Water with some other substance before serving it to a thirsty world. There are beautiful things in every culture on this planet of ours, and no one is better than any other. Other nations don't need "Jesus plus capitalism," or "Jesus plus conservative politics," etc. Just Jesus: He alone is more than enough for all the suffering and injustice on our great big spinning ball. How tragic to water down the gospel with superfluous ideas or requirements from one's own cultural disposition or personal opinion, when one could rather redeem his culture with the unadulterated message of the Father's love and Christ's finished work on the Cross. As a believer, is my faith diluted by the culture around me, or is my faith redeeming the culture around me? I recently heard someone mention Matthew 5:13 saying, “salt adds flavor,” and it got me thinking. Ever licked a salt block, or put a tablespoon of salt in your mouth? Too much salt is not a good thing. But a little bit of salt added to various foods actually draws out the flavor latent within them. So, salt doesn't add flavor; it enhances flavor. Similarly, light in itself isn't necessarily beautiful. In fact, it's difficult to look directly into light. Beauty is experienced when the light reflects off the myriad of diverse colors found in God’s world. So light doesn't bring beauty; light reveals beauty. It's interesting, then, that Jesus chose salt and light as metaphors to describe our role in the world. Perhaps, rather than attempting to replace cultures with our own modern view of what Christianity should look like, we should be allowing the life of Christ in us to redeem the latent flavor and beauty in the cultures around us for our God to enjoy for Himself--the way He intended when He created us.
A few years ago Godfrey Birtill wrote a song called "Outrageous Grace" that has long been one of my favorites. When you really experience the grace of God, there doesn't seem to be a better word than "outrageous." But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. --Romans 5:20 There's a lot of pain, but a lot more healing There's a lot of trouble, but a lot more peace There's a lot of hate, but a lot more loving There's a lot of sin, but a lot more grace --Godfrey Birtill, "Outrageous Grace" The image of Outrageous Grace has captivated me ever since I first heard the song, in my friend Duane White's SUV in front of the old Sealy Assembly (now Christian City Fellowship) church building in Sealy, Texas. When you look at grace in scripture, it's always over-the-top. More than necessary. What could possibly have carried my family through the last eight months of our lives? Or how could someone like my amazing friend Nancy, after nine years of unspeakable abuse, not only forgive--incredible enough as that is--but become everything God planned her to be anyway, now leading hundreds of others to know who they are in Christ? Outrageous! We undersell grace. We mix it up with mercy. Or we stop it short at just forgiveness or new life. But there is an audacity to grace. Not only was Saul of Tarsus spared the hell he deserved, he was still allowed to lead the amazing life God planned for him as a world-changing apostle. Grace didn't only "abound" to deal with Saul's sin--it superabounded to carry him all the way to the man we know of historically today. Grace doesn't just help us survive: by grace we thrive. We have strength beyond ourselves--straight from God--for something bigger than ourselves. If you have limited grace to the first verse of a centuries-old song about how you're glad to be saved, perhaps it's time to embrace the "beyond-ness" of grace. We don't just survive, we thrive. We're not just free from sin and its consequences, we're alive to God, to all of His goodness and power working through us. Your life is about so much more than just you. God's grace. It's outrageous. Oh, outrageous grace!
Oh, outrageous grace! Love unfurled by heaven's hand... --Godfrey Birtill, "Outrageous Grace" Most of the book of Job is a long conversation among Job and three of his friends. When the younger Elihu finally speaks, his words are marked with awe and wonder. In a sense he is appalled with the matter-of-fact manner the others had discussed God and His ways. He begins with rebuke, but he concludes with worship: At this my heart pounds and leaps from its place. Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice, to the rumbling that comes from his mouth... God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding... The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power; in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress. (37:1,2,5,23) What happens as soon as Elihu finishes speaking? God shows up! I find it poignant and instructive that His presence never manifested while folks were debating the finer points of righteousness, sin, judgment, and suffering. But when the worshiper began to speak, when God was spoken of with wonder and reverence, He appeared on the scene--immediately.
Does your conversation about God invite His presence?
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Mike & Chandra Noviskie,
missionaries to South Africa CCF Missions is a ministry of Christian City Fellowship. |