Swimming Against the Current



There is a hugely successful, highly-rated Christian television show called The Chosen about the life and ministry of Jesus. 

The opening credits show a fish, swimming in a direction opposite the one the other fish are swimming.  Slowly, the one fish is joined by other fish – and before the segment is over, there are a number of fish all swimming against the current.

When I was a kid, we had a pool in the backyard.  One of my favorite things to do with friends was to get everyone running in a circle in the shallow end, and then abruptly change direction.  I loved the feeling I got from fighting against the water that was pushing against me as I started off in my new direction.  In truth, however, pushing against the current as a Christ-follower isn’t quite as fun.

Being a Christian in today’s culture is hard.  There are things that are widely accepted, and in fact even celebrated, that as Jesus-Followers we should avoid, or even abhor.  But Satan desperately wants to keep people from God, and he is pretty good at his job.  Remember the story of Adam and Eve?  Where God told them NOT to eat from the one tree in the garden, but Satan said, “go ahead, it’s okay?”  Today’s culture is a little like that...

Things our Bible tells us aren’t good for us as a people or as individuals, new, and growing louder voices in society, are telling us are “ok.”

A recent Gallup poll shows only 20% believe the Bible to be the literal word of God – down from 24 percent just 5 years earlier.  That same poll shows 29% believe the Book to be merely a collection of “fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded by man”.

That shift is echoed in other things as well…things like declining church memberships and religious service attendance, the personal importance of religion, and the actual belief in God.  With these things being true – is it any wonder that we are seeing the chaos and disharmony that fill our news stories daily?  It is the Garden of Eden playing out once again, right in front of us.

Jesus teaches that LOVING GOD, and LOVING OUR NEIGHBORS, are the two greatest commandments.  This is what is important, and this is what I see lacking in our world today.

"One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating.  Noticing that Jesus had'T given them a good answer, he asked him, 'Of all the commandments, which is the most important?'

'The most important one,' answered Jesus, 'is this:  Hear O Israel:  The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.  The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

But loving sommeone doesn't mean blindly accepting their ideology.  Loving someone means being brave enough to proclaim the truth, even when that truth is counter-culture.  Loving someone means recognizing we are ALL sinners and that NO SIN will keep someone from God if that person believes the truth of the Gospel, proclaims Christ as Lord, and repents. And finally, loving someone means knowing God can change anyone with a willing heart.

Ouf current world needs Christ-followers who are willing to proclaim God as their King, who seek the wisdom of the Bible, who love their neighbors, and who strongly swim against the current.  And when we do this - just like the opening credits of the show, more will follow.

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