Saturday Shiree’s parents took us out for her birthday at a nice restaurant, and we had a great time celebrating with them. We dressed up a bit for a change, which was really fun, and dinner last about three hours, which really paced the course of the meal for a change. We had a great night.
Then on Sunday we went to her brother’s to celebrate as well. Had a great time hanging out with their family.
Today Shiree and I spent the day with PV and Aruna Joseph, missionary friends of mine from India. Fellowshiping with other missionaries to Kenya, eating genuine homemade Indian food, and talking about the work of God around the world was a refreshing way to enjoy the middle of the week.
“In a pluralistic [postmodern] society, a religion is valued based on the benefits it brings to its non-adherents.â€
Does that statement make you uncomfortable? It makes me uncomfortable because my faith has generally been about my life, my destiny, my world. It has little to do with others. But let me guess: that’s not why you were uncomfortable with the statement.
In the Beginning…
God has been telling a story from the beginning. Our world was created at its best. We were once what we wish we were now. But in Adam we fell.
Later on, when God approached Abraham and made a Promise: “I will make you a blessing to all people groups [nations].†The Promise is a pivotal plot point in God’s Story. From then on God has been working through his people in order to bless the entire world.
A New Revolution
Jesus was the Promise, coming to provide abundant life in his kingdom, the domain of the Story. He spoke more of this life than he did of “the life to come.†He came to be and was the true Israel, the Messiah through whom we can all be children of Abraham by faith.
If we are descendants of Abraham by faith, what does this mean for our purpose in the world? If Abraham and his heirs were “blessed to be a blessing,†who are we blessing in our world?
Our Role in the Story
Christians are not the end-users of the gospel. Because of modernity, our focus has been on “personal salvation.†And we have kept the blessings of the Promise for our personal blessing. If we are chosen to be blessed in Christ, how much more so are we chosen to be a blessing to the world!
This kind of “consumer Christianity†is pervasive in Western culture, serving as a sort of religious Wal-Mart, treating salvation as something to “sell people on.†People, however, do not want another product to buy––products have proven unsatisfying. What is valued is relationship––because fulfillment is found in relationship.
The End of Theology
When we speak of the “end†of theology, we are not speaking of its eradication, but rather its goal. If theology is communicating our faith in God to a culture in way that is understandable and articulate in that culture, then in communicating it in a new era, we will be much more in tune with what benefits that culture, regardless of what it does with Christianity. Some theologians refer to this as “redeeming the culture.†Just like yeast works its way in the dough, the Kingdom grows in our world (see Matthew 13:33). This is also where stewardship of our world is an important element of the gospel––we are caretakers of and are concerned with our world, with God’s world. Do you assume that ecological, political, global, and social endeavors are exclusive from the benefits of the gospel?
Paul said that Christ came to restore all things to himself (Colossians 1:16-20), and as stewards of the earth, we are to be involved in bringing God’s will to earth “as it is in heaven†(Matthew 6:10).
When a person sees that Christianity benefits the world at large, Christians are seen as those who care about the world, not simply our own personal well-being. It is this kind of selfless care and initiative that will be attractive to many.
In the end, the world will see God. How soon will we as Christians show God to them? Because, as Carl Raschke says, “At the end of theology, we must all get on our faces.â€
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