Where Christ Bursts Our Cultural Bubble

From 1 Corinthians 1 – 23 But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

In the quest for the social ideal, C. S. Lewis admits in Mere Christianity, "Most of us are not really approaching the subject  in order to find out what Christianity says: we are approaching it in the hope of finding support from Christianity for the views of our own party."

To this kind of purposefully partial perspective, Paul thunders in 1 Corinthians 1:23-24. Christ's righteousness, His glorious reputation, confronts each society's sense of scandal. His Gospel calls for individuals to come out from that society, for the Jews to be willing to stumble over there pride of appearances on the way to Him, and for the Greeks to be able to embrace a faith they can't entirely reason out beforehand.

What of us? Where do we approach Christ for negotiation to determine which of our cherished political or cultural values He can help advance? Where are we beginning to see that power and wisdom are His, rather than secondarily derived as He cooperates with the existing influences we cherish? If I haven't stumbled over an extra-biblical assumption I clung to five years ago, I may not be growing and submitting. If I haven't been willing to appear foolish, even to myself, as I start over in certain aspects of His school, I may love stasis more than renewal in Him.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Enthusiasm, Even If We Have To Work At It

On Fixer Upper, a real estate renovation show, perpetually upbeat contractor Chip Gaines faces the usual list of hassles incumbent in his work with the reflection that his father's greatest gift to him was to show him that work could be fun. Conversely, as I asked my usual questions of a new acquaintance in Bible study about what he looks for in new hires, he shared separately that enthusiasm can't be trained. I can't, he said, teach you to have fun at your job. The two insights are not necessarily contradictory. Chip's father had a prolonged impact on his attitude toward work at a time when Chip's child heart was as flexible as the body of an infant who can peacefully fall asleep in postures an adult would find uncomfortable if not crippling. The cafeteria manager spoke to the rest of us who either were not presented with that inspirational outlook or who have been distracted from that by work's more aggravating aspects. For those of us who don't come b
Read more

A Hobby Or A Habit?

Chris is a firefighter's firefighter.  He is passionate about the equipment. He is passionate about the people he gets to help. He is passionate about the honor of a career in the fire service. He is passionate enough to attend a training to sharpen his skills on his vacation time. When a college kid at the same training referred to firefighting as a hobby, Chris was not passionate in affirming that kind of divided enthusiasm. Would he have my back, Chris questioned? Would he rescue someone on the second floor if doing so involved in some personal risk?   Chris didn't have a chance to ask these questions or confront this attitude during the brief training. Perhaps someone else in a more long-standing relationship with this kid will have the opportunity fo model professionalism and to extend it to confrontation where necessary. If not, the progression is predictable, and extends far beyond firefighting. Observing a similarly nonchalant attitude in a young pitcher, Michael Lew
Read more

The Next "Why" Determines the Next "How"

"You don't remember me, do you?" is a loaded question. Often the answer is no. Saying this aloud is a confession that I don't prioritize people over my own thoughts. Nevertheless, this time the answer was a "yes" that was both emphatic and reluctant. This figure, tall, deep-voiced, and with a calm that could have been command presence was memorable, indeed. Twelve years ago, I hung my hopes on him in pumped full with the helium of heady optimism. As I was bringing my work gifts recognized, finally, and three years of experience into a new chapter in life in which I was also getting married, he stood in for a nice supporting role in my projected happily-ever-after narrative. He was a military veteran who, after retirement, had transitioned into the same human services field in which I worked. Since I was not physically built for military service, there was already, before I met him, masculine validation in the fact that we were going to be working toward the
Read more