A thought for a turbulent time: A debate now rages over people who believe their chosen “identity” in life nullifies the data assigned to them at conception. A few years ago, people who sincerely denied this data were deemed insane. Now an irrational cultural shift has ensued in which Christians are censured for pointing out that the emperor has no clothes.
Even so, the sword cuts both ways. A person who “identifies” with Christ yet does’t act like Him is no better off than the person who is the object of their concern—one who “identifies” with a life while living contrary to the truth of it.
The Apostle John said, “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” (1 John 2:3-6)
The Apostle Paul said, “And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light…” (Romans 13:11-12)
Both John and Paul were writing to Christians living in a tyrannical, debauched culture, and culture has always been hard to fight, especially where “men loved the darkness instead of the light…” But no one can put out the sun.
Shine.
Jay McCarl 