FLASHBACK FRIDAY: Cultural Christianity
I think there is one thing we can all agree on politically: the United States has been nothing short of wonky in the political arena in the last few years. We have fallen off our rocker. Am I right? Don’t worry. This is not a political post. However, it may get some a little riled up, but that’s okay.
What if I told you that our shift away from cultural Christianity is a good thing? I think I just heard everyone gasp in harmony. In all seriousness, what if a shift away from Christianity being the cultural norm is not a bad thing?
The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. Hebrews 12:27-28
God tells us that he is going to do a little shaking. He does some shaking in our lives. He is sifting out the unnecessary stuff, the stuff that keeps us from him, and leaving our foundation in him. This shaking out of cultural Christianity is not a bad thing. Of course we want our country to align with a Christ-centered moral compass. I do not disagree. However, this shaking forces you and me to decide where we stand.
Do we stand firm on the Cornerstone OR do we follow Christianity because it’s what we were brought up to believe?
A cultural shift away from Christianity forces the “believer” to decide whether they are going to stick around and live out this faith thing or if they are going to walk because the shaking is too hard. This change in our society summons us to decide whether or not we are going to hold onto our faith for dear life even when we are challenged to the core.
Our family recently went to the Christmas tree farm to pick out our Christmas tree. We go the first weekend in December every year and chop down our tree. Call me Clark Griswold, but I LOVE it! Once you cut your tree down, they take your tree to the staging center. There, they cut a bit of the end off and get it ready to throw through the netting so you can tie it to the roof of your car and take it home. Before they throw your tree through the net, they put it on this mechanism that shakes off all the excess needles. This process makes me think of us and these times we are living in.
Are you going to be the needles that fall to the ground because you can’t withstand the shaking or are you going to stay attached to the tree?
I don’t want to fall to the ground. I don’t want a shift in culture to have the power to knock down my faith. When life around me shakes my beliefs, I want to hold tightly to that tree; to God. Shaking is good for us. It reminds us what we believe and challenges us if our belief isn’t fully rooted. Shaking removes the needles that were only there because it looked pretty or smelled good not because they were in it for the long haul. Shaking dares us to go deeper even if the mission before us is daunting.
Our faith, our Christianity has got to be more than a cultural thing. If our world crumbled today (let’s face it, we kind of feel like it already has), would your faith still stand?
Love & Blessings,
Meg