Little children, keep yourselves from idols

 Humans have been created by God to worship. That is simply part of what it means to be human. Regardless of what the atheist says, we will worship something or someone. C. S. Lewis captured this powerfully in his book The Great Divorce. In that story, a mother has turned her maternal love for her son into idolatry. She was willing to drag her son to hell in order to have him all to herself. Lewis has the mother say this:

 “I don’t believe in a God who keeps mother and son apart. I believe in a God of love. No one had a right to come between me and my son. Not even God. Tell Him that to His face. I want my boy, and I mean to have him. He is mine, do you understand? Mine, mine, mine, for ever and ever (C. S. Lewis, The Great Divorce: A Dream (New York: HarperOne, 2001), 102–3..’”

This is a stark reminder of how easy it is for us as human beings to turn even something good into an idol.

1 John 5:21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

Countercultural

There have been times when Christians have argued that the church needs to embrace and possibly conform to the culture around us. Certainly, there are things from the broader culture that Christians can adopt without sinning. Certain fashion styles, the use of computers, and other technologies, for example, may be perfectly acceptable. However, the reality is that the church and individual Christians are called to be countercultural. We are not to conform to the ways of this world.

The Scriptures are clear: Israel was to be different from the nations surrounding them (Deuteronomy 4:15–31), and the same principle applies to the church.

Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (ESV).

 

1 John 2:15–17 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever (ESV).

While we are called to be different, holy, and set apart, this does not mean that we are to isolate ourselves from the world. Although there are certain culturally acceptable practices in which Christians cannot participate because they conflict with God's commands, this does not mean that we should withdraw from the public square or refuse to interact with non-Christians.

The opposite is true. We are called to live and move among the people of this world. As we do, we are to call people out of darkness and into the light of Christ (Matthew 4:16; John 8:12). As we go, we are to make disciples of all nations by baptizing them in the name of the one true and triune God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) and teaching them to obey all that Christ commanded (Matthew 28:18–20).

One way we evangelize is by refusing to participate in worldly practices that violate God's commands. When people ask us why we choose not to participate, we have an opportunity to tell them about a better way, a healthier way, and the way that leads to eternal life. We tell them about Jesus!

Death is NOT the End

This has been a week of sorrow. A longtime member of the church has passed on to glory. She was a pillar in her family and in the church for decades, and now there is a space in our lives that feels empty. Death is not a pleasant thing. If we are honest, we recognize that there’s something wrong with death. But it’s a reality in the world we live in, and no amount of positive thinking can rid this current world of it. However, we must also remember that death, for the Christian, is not the end. While our loved one is gone from this earth and we are unable to call them on the phone or visit with them, they are, in fact, still alive. When a Christian passes on, they are brought into the presence of the Lord of all creation and are now experiencing life more fully than they ever did here on this earth. Yes, we grieve our loss and tears pour down our faces, but those tears are for our loss, not theirs. We rejoice that our loved one is with the Lord. The Apostle Paul wrote:

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Paul is talking specifically about the resurrection to come, but notice what he says about mourning or grieving. Paul says that we are not to mourn for those who are in Christ like the rest of the world mourns. Those in the world have no hope, but Christians have the hope of eternal life.