Getting Loud about Jesus
By Jessica Brodie
It’s a crazy world. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been hearing this a lot lately. I’ve even said it myself—a fallen world, a broken world. Culture, battling so fiercely for the self and the flesh against the ways of the Lord.
Many of us who are Christians might feel incredibly out of step with what has been happening in our society lately. From materialism and consumerism to downright lies to the repeated insistence that anything is OK if it feels right, sometimes it seems like we’re living in Sodom and Gomorrah or Nineveh or Babylon instead of a nation founded on Christian ideals.
Think about it—when the first pilgrims fled Europe to escape a society they felt was increasingly hostile to them, they were seeking a Promised Land, a place where they could practice their faith with protection and privacy. While later settlers did horrible things to the Native Americans already living here in a conquest for land and power, the first pilgrims tried hard to get along with the indigenous people, simply wanting a place where they could exercise religious freedom
Now, people of faith often feel like an unwanted minority in a Western culture that glorifies the self over God.
So what do we do? Do we hunker down and protect ourselves against what’s coming?
Do we form little Christian shelter societies?
No. In the face of opposition to Christ, we need to get louder about what is important.
Many of us know John 3:16 well, taking much comfort in knowing God sent his son so all who believe in him could have eternal life. But we often forget to consider the implications of the very next verse, verse 17—that he did not come to condemn the world but to save it.
Many of us also forget to consider what Jesus said after his resurrection. In Matthew 28:19-20, he told his disciples they had a critical job to do in this world. They were to spread this important truth so all could hear it. They were to spread the gospel to all corners of the Earth.
The Christian message—of love and peace, of honoring God first and loving others as we love ourselves, that Jesus Christ is our path to salvation, a path we all must know—this is not just for us who already call ourselves Christian. The good news is for all, not just those already in the “Jesus club.”
Just because our way of life seems unpopular sometimes, or the values and morals we hold dear seem completely opposite from what we see on television, it doesn’t mean we’re supposed to close our mouths and stop talking.
We need to speak louder and bolder about what is important. We need to do this even if it makes us unlikable, and even if it ultimately means Christians will be hated for what we believe.
At one point, Christian morals were acceptable in culture. You were frowned upon if you did not reflect the teachings of the church. Just because it is not this way now doesn’t mean we’re supposed to get the old way back. Jesus told us that we would be hated for what we believe, that we would be persecuted (Matthew 10:22-24).
It’s scary sometimes not being liked, or being ridiculed for what we believe. It’s scary being called names by those who don’t understand.
But we have an obligation to spread the saving message of Christ to all. Those who have ears to hear will hear the message. The Holy Spirit who is in us will do his job if we are willing to surrender and let him have his way in us, to let him use us to reach others, so that God’s kingdom can grow.
Today, if you are feeling alone, or maybe feeling ostracized for what you believe, remember that Jesus told us this was coming.
We still need to speak up and speak out, drawing other people into the fold.
Have you ever done an Advent daily devotional? It’s a helpful and personal way to experience the four weeks leading up to Christmas. Please consider my new book, Preparing Our Hearts, designed to start Dec. 3 through Christmas. Available as an ebook and paperback: click here.
WANT TO HELP SPONSOR JESSICA BRODIE’S WRITING MINISTRY BY BECOMING A PATRON? CLICK HERE.
THANKS TO MY SPONSORS: MATT BRODIE, EMILY DODD, KATHLEEN PATELLA, BILLY ROBINSON, AND LANNY TURNER.
SHARE TODAY’S BLOG ON SOCIAL MEDIA: CLICK HERE OR THE SOCIAL LINKS BELOW.