“Our Christian faith is the singular lens through which every other event, activity, passion, or pursuit is meant to be understood.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – December 29, 2022
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart. Ephesians 5:18-19, ESV
We talk about the things we love. Whether it is a beloved sports team, cooking a favorite meal, or discovering a new author, rarely are we able to keep these passions to ourselves! There’s simply something within us as human beings that longs to create communal experiences. We were not made for isolation and in the mystery of God’s will, life takes on a greater depth of meaning when it is shared with others.
If this is true of recipes or musicians, should our faith in Christ not all the more take on a deeply communal nature? In truth, this has always been the case, yet in our modern world, we seem to have embraced a lie that tells us that faith is an entirely personalized and privatized affair. If you want to believe in Christ in the quiet of your own heart and home, be my guest. Yet to speak of this faith in public or in communal settings is increasingly passé, and in truth often met with indifference and at times genuine hostility.
Mindful of this, we often remove our faith from topics of conversation, even within the family of faith, instead opting for “safer” and more acceptable alternatives: the news, weather, or recent events at a child’s school. The great problem here, my dear friends, is not in any one of these isolated topics, but in the way that we treat Christ and his Church as one topic amongst many. Church or cooking. Faith or fitness. Christ or college football.
Our Christian faith is not one of the ingredients of modern life but is the singular lens through which every other event, activity, passion, or pursuit is meant to be understood.
And for this reason, we must actively and intentionally cultivate a habit of speaking of Christ and offering each and every area of our lives back to him in worship. As St. Paul exhorted the Ephesian Church, so too must we “address one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” Of course, your friends and family may find it odd if you only converse in song form! Yet see the heart of his words and receive them as wisdom and guidance for your own life. Live a life of prayer and worship, and as you go about your life, in both public and private ways, seek out opportunities to offer up your life as a gift and be quick to have the name of Christ in your heart and on your lips.
Prayer
Father, let us know the joy that is found in sharing our faith with others and journeying together as a community of faith with songs of praise on our lips and gratitude in our hearts.
Application
Take time this week to recount God’s goodness and faithfulness in your life in conversation with friends or family members.
Related Reading
1 Corinthians 14:26; 2 Corinthians 12:19; Colossians 3:16
Worship Resource
Porter’s Gate feat. Taylor Leonhardt: Jubilee
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