Redemption, Not Evacuation

We can no longer afford to live under the evacuation ideology.

Many Christians have come to believe that the world will be ending soon, or that Christ's return will happen in their day. That may be true. But the truth is, we cannot know WHEN Jesus is coming back... only that He is. Because of their belief that the world is coming to an end, many Christians choose to hide away in their Christian enclaves with their Christian music and Christian movies. What a happy society they all live in.

We need to step to action! We were sent into our world to reconcile it to Christ; to live as Jesus did and live in a proper relationship with God, others, Creation, and ourselves. When we hide away, we may think that we are protecting ourselves, but really, we are just complacently allowing evil to spread. 

Imagine a businessman suddenly had the infallible knowledge that his business will collapse soon. So he packs his things, takes as much wealth as he can with him, and leaves his employees to run the doomed business. Inevitably, the business will go bankrupt and not only will the employees lose money, but they'll also be out of a job. And in today's economy, that can be life and death for a family. 

Is that Christian-like behavior? Are you so sure that Jesus wants us to hide away and save ourselves heartache and trouble and pain? Does He want us to stay out of the inner city so that we won't be tempted to do drugs? Or, in a more probable scenario, avoid seeing a new movie simply because it wasn't endorsed by the Christian community?

If you chose to go to that movie, imagine the conversations you could have with those you go with! Since everyone (yes, even film-makers) bears the image of our God, the movie WILL reflect God's character; although it may not be explicitly stated. By identifying, exploring, and discussing themes of a movie, we can redeem what once was a part of the world and in turn glorify God through it. He is delighted when we discover Him in all that we see or do! We are discovering more of Him, and our intimacy grows!

In a similar way, I believe that everything in our world can be redeemed. In fact, God has specially called each one of us to a unique trade or lifestyle so that we can redeem the world around us to Him! For example, right now, I feel called to write and upkeep this blog; the Internet is a sinful, even dangerous place. And yet here I am, able to redeem a small piece of it because God has redeemed me.

We have to look at the big picture. Recently I read a great book called "Futureville" by Skye Jethani, and it discusses a few core ideas about how to engage our world. I recommend you take some time to read it as well! 

In the Garden of Eden, God created a world full of order, beauty, and abundance. Jethani claims that to flourish, or to live as God designed and wants us to live, we need these three things. Without one, our lives fall apart. Now, God didn't intend for the Garden to stay a garden. Provided that Adam and Eve never sinned, I believe that we would have still created and developed new technologies. We were made in God's creative image, after all! That's why we desire order, beauty, and abundance!

But since our world is sinful, what can we do? Although we cannot fully redeem our world, we can strive to get close. It IS impossible to eradicate evil from our world, but we sure can try! Complacency is not something God calls us to; knowing the inevitable, and therefore sitting on our hands as the world spirals downwards is a terrible way to live.

One of the most freeing things about this whole redemption deal is that you don't need to be a super-Christian. Jesus covered that one for you. Your life has been united with His, and therefore, you can choose to live in His image! Missionaries and pastors may have vocations that appear to be better than anyone else's, but the truth is, the church hasn't been affirming secular jobs nearly enough. We are told all the time that if you are a businessman/woman, and you aren't sharing the gospel with your employees every coffee break, then you aren't doing enough. This is a LIE.

God calls us to glorify Him. This looks like living under the two commands He gives us: to love Him more than anything else, and to love others as He loved us. Romans 10:13 says, "Love does no wrong. Love, therefore, is a fulfillment of the law." While sharing the gospel is a great thing to do, discretion must be used as to the timing of it's presentation. The Holy Spirit is in you to help you with that.

Many Christians think their jobs aren't good enough to glorify God, as if there was a hierarchy of employment. They think the only way they can serve our Maker is to get involved in the church. Don't get me wrong; we SHOULD be involved in the ministries of the church! But your second job isn't meaningless in light of the church; in fact, it isn't second at all. It's your job. God has called you to serve there; glorify Him in your job setting. 

See, we can redeem the world around us in almost infinitely different ways. An artist is second to none; their work creates beauty in an ugly world; this beauty is a reflection of our God. A businessman is second to none; they create jobs that are much needed for our economy and create abundance for many households. A senator is second to none; they create laws that generate order and peace to protect and serve us. 

Any job (yes, even blue collar jobs like plumbing or garbage collecting), can be used to glorify our God if we choose to do so. We cannot hide away from our world, we need Christian employees, social workers, injustice fighters, government officials... missionaries and pastors are not the only Christian ministry available. What God has called you to, He wants you to do. He wouldn't favor one over another if both are serving Him in their God-given capacity!

And besides, if no Christians were engaged in our culture, who would let the unbelievers know there was grace and love for them? That is why we must #LiveItLikeJesus.