Sociology explains too much of my life. I wish it didn’t, but it does. This probably goes for yours, too. Not trying to be negative. Just honest.
Factors such as race, gender, age, education, income, region, nation, politics, and generation explain a lot of who I am and what I do.
One time I took my car to another town to get an estimate on a problem that mechanics in my town said would require a $1,000 repair. The owner of the other-town-car-place invited me to come look at the problem while the care was on a lift.
“How much would it cost to fix that?” I asked.
“Ten dollars,” he said.
“Why was I told by this other place it would it cost $1,000?
His answer?
“You live in Chapel Hill, right? Well, people there have a lot of book sense but not much regular sense. They’ll pay more.”
Great.
Sure, it is natural to be part of a particular culture. But, here’s the thing.
God wants to be my primary culture.
And when he is, other factors get trumped. For instance, did it make any cultural sense that a Pharisee became the apostle to the Gentiles? Or, that a fisherman from the back region of Galilee would preach to thousands in Jerusalem?
God wants to be the primary explanation of our lives. In other words, our life should only make sense if someone understands what God does.
This Sunday, I will teach from 1 Peter 2:4-12. It describes what God is doing, what he is building out of people who have tasted of Christ. He gives us a new identity that is, frankly, incredible. And he calls us to a purpose that completely transforms us.
What is it like to have a life that can only be explained by what God is doing?
This Sunday.