“Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world to…live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”
I Peter 2:11-12
As we move deeper into the new year, today’s verse serves as a faithful guide. It seems the days are more dangerous than ever with “wars and rumors of wars” crowding the nightly news programs. It appears as though the entire world is spiraling toward Sodom for “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” (I John 5:19 NASB).
But as Christians, we should not smirk at the misery or the merrymaking of our immoral culture. This is no time for smug self-righteousness. This is no time to get cranky that our country has been hi-jacked by the “radical left.” This is a season, perhaps like none other, to truly influence the world, to showcase the love of Christ through ministries of mercy. Others may whine about the triumphs of evil, but not followers of Jesus Christ. We know better. We know that ultimately good will triumph. So we showcase what that will look like by rolling up our sleeves and feeding the poor, telling about Jesus, helping the elderly and disabled, bridging racial distances, and raising the bar of common civility. “For we are…created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10, italics mine).
Dr. John Piper has said, “The greatness of Christian exiles is not success, but service. Whether we win or lose, we witness to the way of truth, beauty and joy. We don’t own culture, and we don’t rule it. We serve it with joy and mercy, for the good of man and the glory of Jesus Christ.”**
Take a quick attitude check. If you find you are pessimistic about our culture, then commit today to serve it in practical ways which showcase the love of Christ.
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace today in my community.
