Some Things Never Change

More than fifty years ago, Francis Schaeffer wrote what has become a modern-day classic in Christian literature, How Should We Then Live?

In light of recent events in our country, many today are asking that same question.  The last two weeks have been a period of turmoil and sadness for many.  This has been a period of tension and heightened rhetoric about murder and racism and a flag.  Added into that mix was the recent Supreme Court ruling regarding same-sex marriage. 

Because of all that has transpired in our country over the last two weeks, the question is pertinent.  How should we then live?  How should we respond to these events?

Two weeks ago, nine Christian people were brutally gunned down in a Bible study at their church.  That was a tragic, horrific event.  That the gunman had white skin and his victims had black skin brought pontifications from many, both black and white.  Much of what has been said has no basis in fact.  So, how should we then live?
How do we respond? 

My skin is white.  I was born in South Carolina.  I have lived most of my life south of the Mason-Dixon line.  My ancestors, though not wealthy or plantation owners or slave owners, fought in the Confederate army.  That is my heritage.  It would be a mistake, however, to assume that because those facts are true, I am a racist, a white supremacist, a hate-monger, or a bigot.  It would be equally a mistake to assume that because I am Southern, because I was born in South Carolina, and because I have an accent reflecting the area of my birth, I am somehow ignorant and less intelligent than if I had been born in a different part of the country. 

Assumptions can be trouble.  So the first answer as to how we respond to these events in our culture is not to make assumptions.  Be discerning.  Think. Get all the facts and reason them through.  Just because you read something on the internet does not make it true.  Check your facts.  Be a thinking person.

The same is true regarding other cultural issues.  I am a white woman.  I am a heterosexual woman.  I am a married woman.  I am, above all, a Christian woman.  It would be a mistake to assume, based on those facts, that I bear hatred toward those who are different than I am.  I don't.  So far as I am aware, I don't hate anyone.  However, because I am a Christian woman, I do hold certain beliefs, certain core values, that are non-negotiable.  Among them, I believe that marriage is a God-ordained institution, defined as a covenant relationship between one man and one woman.  You may disagree with me.  That is your right and your privilege.  It does not, however, alter what I believe.

Much is changing in our culture these days.  As Christians, what should be our response?  In the words of Francis Schaeffer, how should we then live?

As Christians, our response should be the same as it has always been.  Jesus Christ has not changed.  The culture may have changed, as it has many times since the days Jesus walked this earth.  But Jesus is still the same. 

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."  (Hebrews 13:6 NASB)

His instructions to us still stand.  Among them, are these:

Jesus said, "Love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind."  (Matthew 22:37 NASB)

Jesus said, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."  (Matthew 22:39 NASB)

Jesus said, "Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you....."  (Matthew 28:19-20a NASB)

Jesus said, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me." (Luke 9:23 NASB)

Jesus said, "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you."  (John 15:18 NASB)

In these challenging days, be alert.  Be discerning.  Be a good student of the Word of God.  Hold on to Jesus and to the unchanging truths of the Word of God.  Because, although many things are changing in our world, some things never change.

"The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever."
(Isaiah 40:8 NASB)

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."  (Hebrews 10:23 NASB)

"What you have, hold fast until I come."  (Revelation 2:25 NASB)