The new season approaches. There seems to be change in the wind. Have you heard people saying that lately. I know I have.
The exact change is difficult to put your finger on though. Perspectives are still divided, opinions are like bottoms (everyone has one) societies are fracturing, protests and counter protests. An article I read recently was commenting on how young people today (those under 21 say) have only lived in a world where there is warfare, extreme acts of terrorism, a financial crisis, little prospect of home ownership and a health pandemic. They have never known a world without social media, and all the benefits and dangers that it presents.
But even so, it seems people are searching, and that is normally a good thing, especially when it involves the truth. Ah I hear you say – ‘what is truth?’ Without going all Pontius Pilate on you, it’s a valid question. What is it, where does one find it and when you do, what pray tell are we to do with it?
There’re murmurings in that wind that a certain cohort of people (particularly overseas, but also in Oz) are seeking after God more than at any time in recent history (and the God of the Bible no less!) It’s only a dribble of information at the moment, but it seems Christianity is being recognised as counter cultural again in a big way, and so is gathering support from the latest generation of hipsters who love all things radical. And from the very age group mentioned above it seems. And why shouldn’t it appeal to the latest generation? Christ came to offer salvation to all, including the poor and marginalised and so I suspect that’s exactly how they feel.
And when we talk about all things radical, it has to be said Christianity really is the most radical of all. Why? Well let’s face it, how on earth did a tiny sect of Judaism, from a Middle Eastern backwater, with only 12 original followers (a very motley crew at that), end up being the official recognised religion of the Roman Empire, and spreading to every corner of the known world. Pretty radical right? Well, that’s not all, because what makes it so radical, is that it is so very different to every other world religion too. All (and I mean all) other religions have a version (doctrine) that tells the story of a prophet/leader/head-honcho who has come to show others the way to God/enlightenment/nirvana. Christianity, is the only (and I mean only) religion in the world that says: I am God, come to find YOU.
Jesus Christ the Trinitarian Son, came and lived among humans not just to be a good moral teacher (even though he was – check out that awesomeness in Matthew chapter 5 for starters), nor just to fulfil the Law of the Old Testament (though he did), but also to save humanity from their sins (the bad stuff we do), for an eternal paradise to come in a newheaven and a new earth, where there is no crises, no suffering and certainly no death. Many religions claim to be right, but only in Christianity does its founder claim to be the way, the truth and the life, with a salvation wrought by the death and resurrection of God who became man. In fact, they were Jesus’s own words found in John 14:6. Radical, radical words.
So seeking the truth, seems like a worthy thing to search for, especially when things are looking a bit grim as they have been, especially over the last 20 or so years. Jesus doesn’t claim to just have the truth, but the be the truth. Interesting concept? You bet. What’s better, it’s true!
Jesus came to save sinners just like you and me, by being the conduit for everyone who believes in him. In this way he brings all into a relationship with him that lasts for eternity. To every punter in Claro, why not dust off that old Bible and rediscover (or discover for the first time) the wonder of what the Truth is, who the Truth is, where He is to be found, how to begin your new life in him and what wonders come next in His awesome plan for you! (If you haven’t got a Bible, drop around to the church and I’ll give you one. And just like Jesus’s gift of salvation – it’s free!)
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all.
Rev Allan D Welch, Clarence Town Presbyterian Church
29 Marshall St, Clarence Town 0402 387 690
