Is the Christian faith relevant today?
And He did not let him, but He said to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” Mark 5:19 NASB
This story in Mark is a story I talk about often. Jesus came ashore in a place that was a remote part of Israel. They weren’t great at keeping the law. He and the disciples came up on this man that was possessed by an army of demons. Jesus ended up getting the demons out of the man but they went into a herd of pigs, who, in turn, rushed down the bank and into the lake and they drown. The people of the community were upset that Jesus messed with their pig farming operation, even though pigs weren’t part of the approved diet of the Jews. So they asked Jesus to leave their region.
The guy Jesus healed asked if he could go with Jesus. And this verse is his answer. He tells the guy to go back to his people and tell them what great things had been done for him and how he had been saved.
Jesus knew he wasn’t going to be well received in this community, but a guy from there would be. After all, he was one of them. So Jesus transformed this person and sent him back to his own people. He does the same for us.
We want to be culturally relevant. which means what we say and do fits our time. Now I’m not talking about fitting in. It’s a small difference. We need to know and serve the people we meet. We’re called to be different. But if we like them and we’re trusted by them, then what we say and do becomes more believable, more trustworthy. We are called to be in the world.
Our love for others should be visible. But we don’t operate by the world’s standards. We don’t buy into the prevailing opinions.
It requires that we know what God has done for us and to be genuine when we explain that to others. It takes practice. Our goal is to have a ministry to people I know and live with based on who I am. It’s transparent, authentic, and genuine.
We want to serve others in a way that is helpful to them. We want to love people. We look for ways to serve and love others while we follow Jesus, because we follow Jesus. We can find many people to serve that way without even leaving our city or workplace. That’s why being culturally relevant calls us to listen to the Holy Spirit and do what he says.
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