Monday, April 6, 2009

The End of Christian America

In this week's Newsweek magazine, there is an article entitled, "The End of Christian America." It notes, "The percentage of self-identified Christians has fallen 10 points in the past two decades." While this is not surprising, it is something to think about.

In the past, everyone considered America a Christian nation and was proud of it. Today, that seems to be changing. The numbers seem to tell me that those people who identified themselves as Christians (but never went to church, never lived the life of a Christian, and never really did anything that would set them apart as a Christian) are no longer identifying themselves as "Christian." I don't see that as a bad thing. Instead, I think it is time for those of us who truly live out the Christian walk should do so and be proud of it!

With the subtraction of those who identified themselves as Christians (but probably really were not in the strictest sense) that leaves the rest of us to show our neighbors (and the world) what a "real" Christian looks like. I believe that it is time for all Christians to live their lives as Jesus called us to live them--in humble service to others. If we do that, the world will take notice. It only took a handful of committed men and women to turn the world "upside down" nearly 2000 years ago. Don't you think God can help us do that same thing again? If God is God (and He is) then of course He can help us make a difference in the world. It is simply time for ALL Christians to stop petty bickering and fighting among themselves and to start fighting the right battle! Satan is alive and well and it is high time we stopped helping him out.

As we go through this Holy Week, let us all make a new commitment to God. Let us truly decide that "His will be done" and let our will fall to the wayside. What may sound radical in today's society was common for the first century Christians. Let go of all of your selfish motives and let God take control of your life--you'll be glad you did (and so will those in our world that need to see the love of God!)

1 comment:

Rosella said...

Finally, some calmness in the midst of the storm. You are right about the numbers falling off. Only those who were Christian because it was fashionable and correct have fallen away. Many have died and we have not raised our children to fill the gap. But we can change that if we subscribe to HIS will and not ours and quit worrying about what everyone thinks. Only matters what God thinks. Thank you for your insight.