Last week I talked about a book I was reading that discussed the coming end times framing them through current events and biblical prophecy. One of the things that has been on my mind ever since picking up the book is the fact that we shouldn’t be separating our secular and religious life into different, distinct zones. This has been nagging me for a couple of weeks now, which I definitely interpret as the Holy Spirit that dwells in me tugging on my conscience, trying to reveal a truth about my life to me.
It’s just so easy for us to separate our lives into zones, though. There’s work. There’s home. There’s school. There’s family. There’s friends, and even that zone can have multiple zones: best friends, good friends, acquaintances, that one girl in the store that you see every week, but never talk to. There’s online. There’s offline. And of course, there’s church, and to a greater extent, Christianity as a whole.
Each zone has its own place in everybody’s lives. It’s where certain behaviors are expected and regulated. For example, the language you use at work may be full of tech speak and everybody at your job understands what you’re saying, but try to use that language with your family members who don’t work in the same field and it’ll get lost in translation. This separation in all of our lives is necessary as we move throughout life, but it definitely shouldn’t apply to us if we call ourselves a Christian.
Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote, “No man can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude without finally getting bewildered as to which may be true.” This is what I’ve been struggling with because I’ve realized, like most everyone, I’ve been doing that and I’ve allowed myself to get confused and lost as to who I am.
Being a Christian should permeate our ENTIRE lives, not just a subset of our life where we’ve decided to allow it to rule. One can’t be a Christian from 9-5, Monday through Friday and then something else the rest of the time. It just doesn’t work that way. Being a Christian should be the way we are our gender and our race: always and every day, unwavering and unchangeable. And just like our gender and race, we shouldn’t allow it to embarrass us and shy away from, but rather proudly allow it to define and dictate who we are.
The book I’ve been reading has allowed me to understand that in the final days when God claims the world for Himself again, life-zoning will end and we will fully embrace and claim just one identity: a follower of Christ who will praise Him and the Heavenly Father in our ENTIRE, EVERYDAY LIFE FOREVER. There will be no more doubt and anxiety about who we really are because we will have finally found ourselves in God, the One who knew us and set us apart before we were even formed in the womb (Jeremiah 1:5).
I say, why wait? Let’s start now. No matter where we are: at work, at school, at home, at church, with family, with friends, with acquaintances, online, offline, or even by ourselves, may only one face be shown: that of a Christian who loves, worships, shares about and even fights for His Lord and Creator every day and every where.
– Matt
ChristianityheavenidentityJeremiahlifeprophecyzone
Zoning Christianity
January 15, 2009
Calvary
Comments Off on Zoning Christianity
Matt
Last week I talked about a book I was reading that discussed the coming end times framing them through current events and biblical prophecy. One of the things that has been on my mind ever since picking up the book is the fact that we shouldn’t be separating our secular and religious life into different, distinct zones. This has been nagging me for a couple of weeks now, which I definitely interpret as the Holy Spirit that dwells in me tugging on my conscience, trying to reveal a truth about my life to me.
It’s just so easy for us to separate our lives into zones, though. There’s work. There’s home. There’s school. There’s family. There’s friends, and even that zone can have multiple zones: best friends, good friends, acquaintances, that one girl in the store that you see every week, but never talk to. There’s online. There’s offline. And of course, there’s church, and to a greater extent, Christianity as a whole.
Each zone has its own place in everybody’s lives. It’s where certain behaviors are expected and regulated. For example, the language you use at work may be full of tech speak and everybody at your job understands what you’re saying, but try to use that language with your family members who don’t work in the same field and it’ll get lost in translation. This separation in all of our lives is necessary as we move throughout life, but it definitely shouldn’t apply to us if we call ourselves a Christian.
Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote, “No man can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude without finally getting bewildered as to which may be true.” This is what I’ve been struggling with because I’ve realized, like most everyone, I’ve been doing that and I’ve allowed myself to get confused and lost as to who I am.
Being a Christian should permeate our ENTIRE lives, not just a subset of our life where we’ve decided to allow it to rule. One can’t be a Christian from 9-5, Monday through Friday and then something else the rest of the time. It just doesn’t work that way. Being a Christian should be the way we are our gender and our race: always and every day, unwavering and unchangeable. And just like our gender and race, we shouldn’t allow it to embarrass us and shy away from, but rather proudly allow it to define and dictate who we are.
The book I’ve been reading has allowed me to understand that in the final days when God claims the world for Himself again, life-zoning will end and we will fully embrace and claim just one identity: a follower of Christ who will praise Him and the Heavenly Father in our ENTIRE, EVERYDAY LIFE FOREVER. There will be no more doubt and anxiety about who we really are because we will have finally found ourselves in God, the One who knew us and set us apart before we were even formed in the womb (Jeremiah 1:5).
I say, why wait? Let’s start now. No matter where we are: at work, at school, at home, at church, with family, with friends, with acquaintances, online, offline, or even by ourselves, may only one face be shown: that of a Christian who loves, worships, shares about and even fights for His Lord and Creator every day and every where.
– Matt
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