My computer homepage is a MSN compilation of news, sports,
weather, and entertainment stories that are currently trending. I don’t know who exactly decided this should
be the homepage (it is my computer’s default setting), but it isn’t too
bad. I can have a snapshot (in visual
form, even!) of what popular stories are right now, every time I open my
internet browser. It’s a good way to
stay abreast of what is going on in the wider world.
Unfortunately, what’s going on in the wider world is often
not all that encouraging. I’ve noticed
that, over the past month, probably 80% of the mornings I turn on my computer,
the lead story is something tragic or disturbing. Today, for example, the first story that pops
up is, “Mother suspected of killing 3 daughters.” Some days it is something relatively
localized, like today’s story. Other
days, it is something widespread, such as when tornadoes touch down in the Midwest
or wildfires ravage California. And, of
course, a large percentage of the stories bemoan missteps by politicians and
media personalities. The only conclusion
I can draw from my MSN feed is that the world is falling apart, and we see
evidence of it continuing every single day.
This cannot be what God wanted or intended when he made the
world. Scripture tells us that God
finished creating the world and said “This is very good.” Those are words that cannot be applied very
often to the world as we know it, at least not without a qualifying
statement. And it has been this way for
a long, long time! In Isaiah 3, the
prophet calls out the leaders and merchants, the men and women, the old and
young of his day. Leaders are failing,
elders are greedy, youths are oppressive, and women are haughty. Things are, in Isaiah’s mind, falling
apart! Is there any hope?
Yes, there is! Isaiah
goes on in chapter 4 to describe a segment of his society that is seen as a
shelter from the storm and a place to recover true identity, peace, and
purpose. That segment of society: the community of the faithful people of
God. Whatever form it took in that day,
the gathering of God’s people – small though it was in relation to the wider
society – was an alternative to what was being offered in the mainstream. Not an angry alternative, not a clannish
alternative, and not a semi-alternative that rejected one or two things
vehemently but otherwise embrace the values of the surrounding culture. Instead, it was a true alternative society,
governed by different values – God’s values! – and sustained by a different
concept of what was good, right, noble, and worthy.
Flash forward 2500+ years.
All around us, we see evidence of the decadence and self-centeredness of
modern Western life returning a cost on most of human society that is far too
high. The vast majority of scientists
state that we are killing our planet.
War and strife run rampant in our world.
Economic insecurities leave billions in precarious circumstances. People are skeptical that our leaders can
make a difference. It’s the world of Isaiah
3 all over again.
And where is the shelter that Isaiah saw in his day? Who is the alternative society or community
now that can be a place to recover true identity, peace, and purpose? It is the church, the gathered people of God
committed to living according to the values of God’s kingdom – this is the
community that is supposed to be the shelter in the storm of life. This is the place where all of us can find an
alternative to the world. This is the
fellowship that lives life differently, more meaningfully…when we actually
do. Far too often, we try to live
according to what we learn is the way of life in the world: that money is what matters, that appearances
are most important, that comfort is more vital than effectiveness, and that
safety trumps obedience to the commands of Christ.
We as the church need to repent when we find ourselves
falling back into the same habits as the world – because we were called to be
something else. We are called to be a
colony of a different kingdom, a different world, governed by a different law
and held to a different standard. Our
central command shouldn’t be “he with the most toys wins;” it should be “love God
with everything you have, and love your neighbor as yourself.” We shouldn’t demand what is rightfully ours,
but rather be sacrificial and generous with what we have. And we shouldn’t act shocked when
non-Christians act in a way contrary to the way of Jesus – we should be honest
and admit that often what passes for religious behavior in our own lives and in
our own community can stand in serious conflict with the teachings of Christ.
God has called us to be different than the world, to hunger
for something more, something greater than fame or fortune or power or
influence. God has called us to be
ambassadors of the kingdom of God, because we have accepted a way of life that
so different from the world – but it is what the world is desperately longing
for. Let’s be that shelter in the storm
of life, a place that says, “You were made for something more – and we want to
help you find it.”
In Christ,
Adam
PS. Many thanks to my
good friend, John Chandler, whose devotional thoughts on Isaiah 3-4 in “Praying
the Prophets” sparked my thinking in this blog post.
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