Living in a changing world

Paul was an observant person. He noticed what was taking place around him, even if his eyesight was not very good. Some people cannot see trees even if they are standing in a wood whereas others can see the small acorns that eventually may become a forest. Christians are meant to see the times and understand the age in which they live. Such a way of seeing is more than observing the obvious.

And it is obvious that we live in a non-Christian society. There is nothing surprising in this experience because it is the kind of society in which most Christians live today. It is also the kind of society in which the church has been usually found ever since Jesus sent out his apostles with the gospel.

In Britain, the church has been living in a non-Christian society for at least a couple of centuries, probably since the Enlightenment of the eighteenth century. Much of the Enlightenment influence that affected the world arose in Edinburgh through the likes of David Hume (whose statue is turning blue outside St Giles). Yet, at least, they were rational in their proposals and the church was able to interact with and critique their propositions.

Today, the worldviews that we encounter usually avoid logic. For the last half-century, many people have adopted the idea of doing their own thing, without any thought as to whether they are pleasing God or anyone else. Such an outlook is basically selfish and is usually connected to the moment, which means that it can often be impulsive and without any thought for consequences. We can read of numerous examples every day in the newspapers.

How should we as Christians live in such an era? Do we need new insights that no one has thought of before? While it can be helpful to have new initiatives, the fact is that we must follow the teachings of the Bible if we want to have true success.

And what does the Bible tell us to do? Simple things, and quite basic. It tells us to put Jesus first always, it tells us to pray fervently and often, it tells us to love others, and it tells us to witness to the gospel to those we know who are strangers to it.

If we don’t do them, all other activities will fail to have an effect for good. But if we do them, who knows what the effect will be?