1999-06-17 - A Post-Christian Era

Luke 19:11-13 And while they were listening to these things, He went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. ¹² He said therefore, "A certain nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return. ¹³ "And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business with this until I come back. (NAS)

I have heard the fact that this is a 'Post-Christian Era' in this nation and world until I might scream with its incessant dripping on my head. There are things that are said as fact, repeated over and over again until they are accepted as fact. Some say them because it serves their agenda, some because they have something to say about it, some because they have bought it as truth regardless of the validity of the statement. There is an old saying that goes something like this. "Believe half of what you see and a quarter of what you read and you'll be better off." I might have the percentages backwards, but the idea comes through. Things are presented to us as truth and it is up to us to decide to believe it or cast it aside.

The phrase 'Do business with this …' is translated 'Occupy …' in the King James. I like that a lot. Christians are described as soldiers. We are not unlike an army that is sent to occupy a defeated nation to keep the peace and prepare for the arrival of representatives of our government.

1 Pet 5:8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.(NAS)

The word 'devour' means literally 'to drink down'. The lion, our adversary has no teeth. He can roar and play the game well, but his power has been crushed by Christ at the resurrection.

Christians are called salt. The idea is that we are a preservative to keep this world from going completely bad leaving it worth nothing but to be thrown out. In order for salt to effectively preserve a slab of meat, it must be rubbed into the meat. The salt must permeate the food to hold back decay. If it is simply spread over the outside, the meat may rot from the inside out. Our Christianity must permeate our lives. Not so that we are so saintly that no one can stand us or understand us. As we allow Jesus to infiltrate our thinking and our lives, it becomes very natural to see Him in our work, play and rest. As we move through our days - not removed from the world, but not part of it - we rub into this world a little Jesus. We become salt and light in a place in need of love, mercy and grace.

This will be a post-Christian world when the Lord takes the last Christian home to glory. Until then, we have an obligation to exercise our gifts is speaking, crafting, caring, encouraging and living. Not all of us are called to speak against political ills, just as others are called to business and to technical or labor arenas. Each one who names the Name of Jesus takes Him to where he or she is called, influencing this world.

We are told, repeatedly, that the Christian philosophy is in the minority. I couldn't care less. The majority can still be the majority and be wrong. The truths we know are still true. No matter how many may discount them, it will not change the fact of God's truth, or His love for this lost and dying world - or that it is indeed lost and dying, sick and blind in desperate need of a Savior.

We have our orders. "Occupy until I come."

Lord Jesus - Today is the day of salvation for someone. Help us to be a light leading them safely to You. Guard our minds with the helmet of salvation that we may see the things that are sold as truth for what they are. Guard our hearts and minds with Your perfect peace. Infect every part of our daily lives. Amen.

Peace,
Mike

jmhoskins@gmail.com
http://www.cfdevotionals.org