As Christmas quickly approaches, so too does New Years Day. A time of reflection; a time of new possiblities; fresh commitments; resolutions for the new year with hopes of lasting and significant change. A serious spiritual analysis is on my plate during the New Year’s holiday and it all started when I began my journey through the book of Acts. It never occurred to me that my daily Bible reading would somehow collide with my annual life inventory or that it would be so painful, but the more I read, the more I find that I lack.
Acts 2 placed me on the pondering path of whether or not I’m measuring up to being like the church we find in Acts 2:42-47. Am I truly devoted to the teaching of the Word, to fellowship, to prayer? Do others see God working in and through me? Am I willing to sell what I have to meet the needs of others? Is reaching those without Christ a priority in my life? Questions that only I can answer for myself; questions that only you can answer for yourself.
Each chapter brings it’s own convictions and challenges, but when I landed on Acts 17, I found myself longing to be like Paul and Silas…wondering why I haven’t turned the world upside down for Christ…wondering why we all haven’t turned the world upside down for Christ. Really…what is it that keeps us from making a similar impact in these days in which we live? Could we have bought into the lie that “religious” references are off limits in certain places? Perhaps we’ve become complacent or possibly even lukewarm. Are we really more afraid of what others think than we are of saddening the heart of our Savior?
I don’t know about you, but I want to live in an upside down world. One that you and I have turned on its heels for Christ. One that calls right, right and wrong, wrong. One that is more worried about pleasing God than offending someone who doesn’t believe in Him. A world where we refuse to defend sin in the name of tolerance and where the Bible defines our moral compass.
It may seem impossible, but it’s not any more impossible today than it was two thousand years ago. Same crazy world, same life-changing Gospel. But it begins when we, the children of the Living God, start being who we say we are and start living what we say we believe. Being salt…being light. Where there is no light, only darkness exists.
The Christians of the New Testament weren’t much different than you and I…they just believed the reality of the resurrected Christ so much that nothing on this earth paled in comparison and they turned this world upside down. That’s what I want to do…I want 2010 to be the year we turn this world upside down for Christ. It may start as we reach our neighbors, our workplaces and our communities, but, oh Lord, let it start with us!
I’ve decided that my motto for 2010 is going to be: “No mo status quo.”
What about you? What are some things you plan on doing in the coming year to turn this world upside down?