How are you feeling? I think most of us today can say we feel a bit over stimulated with all the disorientation in life that we encounter. Our feelings are powerful and can enable or paralyze us in the present and detach us from the real presence and work of God. In this entry I talk about the cultural normalization of individual expressionism. This may sound like a really big idea that you’ve never encountered, but the truth is, we all have stepped into the position where we have developed an idea that what we feel on the inside must be the truth of what is going on the outside.
This idea is fueling a lot of discussion around identity politics and norms in our culture. I have to say, I am not inviting debate, but discussion in how the Church can have a restorative action in the narrative. More than ever we are witnessing our young people and organizations in general are seeking to rob us of the opportunity to challenge every tenant and work of God’s creation as a means to elevate the most important unit in post-modern society, the individual. I was fascinated by the work of Dr. Trueman when he shared in a recent article on Crossway about the subject that the issue of this goes exactly in the opposite direction of our faith because “Christian expressive individualism acknowledges that there may be a problem with that which is inside. A Christian knows that inwardly he or she is sinful, and therefore needs to repent, to turn to God, to go inwards in order to turn outwards toward God and toward Christ. That’s where real authenticity lies” I wanted to share my thoughts because this is an issue I see challenging the Church with the option to ignore the exclusive statement of Christ when he says;
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” John 14:6
We in the Church need to love others enough and be solid in our understanding of identity security in God to engage with others. Particularly with those who are really suffering from the lack of vision, Truth, and moral guidance that helps one live into God’s will for their life. This opposes the culture wars and political exploitations that leave everyone morally bankrupt and consumed by the machine of our systems and institutions.
As we look further into the gospel, we watch Jesus define reality through the presence and ushering in of God’s kingdom. Over and over again, we see Christ speak true identity for those who play a part in the context of the times (the leper, the beggar, the women caught in adultery) and we watch Christ cut through the cultural pathways that leave one void of the truth of the Kingdom and offer the healing that a creation needs from the hand of the creator, and restored into society and in relationship with God.
May we not stand in the way of such work by endorsing a malformed system of social issues that seeks to depart from the expression of the “imago dei” we each possess!
If you would like a resource to dive deep into these subject, I highly recommend Human Sexuality II: A Primer for Christians by Dan Boone
Keep Looking Up!
Pastor Micah