Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles (Acts 2:43, NASB)
Have I lost you yet after reading the title? Culture Wars! This devotional is not political because this message may be eternally important. And politics is not. This devotional is not about what is wrong with the current culture either. It is more about what happens in us as we change our surrounding conversations which may impact how we view current events.
First, the golf analogy is the victorious United States Ryder Cup team. Without quoting just one member of that team, the consensus was, “The culture in the clubhouse was different. We all shared a common purpose and love for one another.” This unity has been tried before, but it became a reality for the Americans in this last Ryder Cup. Even the European team felt a common bond like no other. In a sport that recognizes individual effort, this team sport moved successful grown men to tears. Phil and Rory were amazed at the depth of emotion that was inside them during the post-round interviews. Where did that come from?
—
Do we reflect the culture around us or the Christ in us?
—
I am reminded that the slogan for the Links Players Ministry has been Changing the Conversation. The culture becomes a product of the conversation. I have personally witnessed this cultural change in individual men and women which then permeates the clubhouse and the locker room. More importantly, changing the conversation for good is not just a good idea, it is our calling. Our calling! All of us who identify as born-again believers in Jesus Christ have this calling. The skeptics and radicals will silently observe.
The early church was the same way. Others witnessed these new followers of “the way” and wondered what made the difference. Weren’t these just common folks like you and I? The fourth chapter of Acts explains, Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus (Acts 4:13).
This is a very insightful question for all of us: Do we reflect the culture around us or the Christ in us? Do others recognize that we have been with Jesus? The light does not originate from us, but it becomes the reflection of the One we love and imitate. All we do is reflect and resemble.
This conversation change is not something you jot down on your daily task list. It becomes a by-product of who you are becoming because of time spent with our Father and with the great cloud of witnesses—our brothers and sisters who know Jesus. It is natural and transparent. Others will see and hopefully give God the glory.
Holocaust survivor and psychologist Viktor Frankl observed, “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” The good news is that when we ask God to do the latter, he also does the former. Changed people change people. It is done one soul at a time—not only through our conversation but also by our changed life. God will take care of the rest. We have a responsibility to the ones closest to us. I like the way God changes the culture as He uses broken people like you and me to reflect His light. One soul at a time.