The current cultural climate is not friendly to people following Jesus. It used to be that Christianity was old-fashioned...then it became irrelevant...then close-minded....and now, it is almost as if Christianity is becoming criminal. In this environment, it is easy to turn inward. We turn inward by giving up, and not looking upward to the God who is renewing all things. We can also turn inward by circling the wagons to protect ourselves, treating the culture with hostility just like they treat us.
But since Jesus came downward (from heaven to earth to the cross to the grave), the people of Jesus are called upward and outward. We are called upward as a people who pray with devotion, watchfulness and thanksgiving. We are called outward as a people on a mission to reach a broken world by living wisely, reaching out with purpose, and speaking grace and truth to our neighbors.
Though it will be tough, we are not called to retreat. We are called to reach up and reach out because Jesus has reached down. |
