To Live Like You Were Dying

In Sunday School, we were asked how we would live if we knew that we would die soon (6 months, 1 year, etc). Each of us answered something to the effect of spending time with our family and friend and traveling to really exotic places. The answers were the typical answers that people would want to do one last time. Tim McGraw has a song that addresses this same issue. "Live Like You Were Dying" is an inspiring song to live your life to the fullest each day like it is your last.

But, Jesus did something different. During Jesus' last week before the crucifixion, he was not concerned about traveling to Egypt to see the beautiful Egyptian pyramids, nor was he concerned about traveling back to Galilee to visit with his family. Jesus continued his ministry until his very moment on the cross; he even reached out to the thief on the cross beside him during his death! If asked what we would do with our last moments on earth, we all answered very selfish answers as we only looked towards our own self. But Jesus always looked outward to the needs around him, even up to the time of his death. When Jesus knew he was going to die soon, he did not change what he was doing to live life to its fullest. Jesus realized that he was already living his life to the fullest by doing the will of the Father.

Maybe we can realize that living our life to the fullest has nothing to do with where we are or who we are with, but it is about doing the will of God each day with those around us. It is amazing how our ideas and answers that seem so innocent can be so contrary to the teachings and life of Jesus Christ, our Savior.
dr

A Christendom Mindset

In The Shaping of Things to Come, Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch are challenging Christians "to step out of the box of Christendom in order to take on the problems raised by Christendom," and in two paragraphs above, they say, "The issue of cultural context is essential because the missional church shapes itself to fit that context in order to transform it for the sake of the kingdom of God." [Frost and Hirsch, The Shaping of Things to Come (Peadbody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 2003), 7.] In Rethinking Christ and Culture, Craig Carter recognizes the problems raised by Christendom, but he says, "Asking the question of how the church can have influence on the culture is the wrong question to ask if one's goal is to be faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ." [Carter, Rethink Christ and Culture (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2006), 23.]

I am not surprised to see two authors in disagreement, but I am asking which approach to take in understanding if the church should be culturally relevant. Both authors recognize the development of the relationship between the church and the state in the Western context that has be characterized as Christendom, which has brought negative consequences on the church. Within a Christendom mindset, the church has lost its voice because she has given it to the state. But it seems that the church must become culturally relevant to regain her voice, but Carter sees that thinking only fueling the Christendom mindset.

The church can go to one extreme and try to be so culturally relevant that she only reflects what the culture is dictating, but she can also go to the other extreme by separating herself from culture that no one hears her voice.

Hopefully, I can continue reading these books as well as others in addition to scriptural reflection and prayer to understand my role as a Christian within the Western culture in which I live; I enjoy reading different perspectives to challenge me in articulating my ideas and beliefs.
dr