Counter Culture

“So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” Romans 12:1-2

As I have been reading my Bible lately and studying the teaching Jesus gave in Matthew 5, I have been reminded how counter culture Jesus actually was. If you dig into your Bible and study it for yourself, you'll quickly discover that Jesus was intense! He was clearly different than everyone else.

He teaches us to love our enemies and bless those who persecute us! Counter culture!

He tells us we need to forgive others over and over again! Counter culture!

He encourages us to cut off our hand or pluck out our eye if it causes us to sin! Counter culture for sure!

Been offended? Hurt? Misunderstood? Talked about? Why not imitate Jesus, be counter culture, and bless those who have done wrong to you!

Finding it hard to forgive someone? Why not take a good look in the mirror, think about all the times you've asked God to forgive you for messing up, and then go ahead and extend that same mercy to the person who needs it from you!

Keep falling into sin and can't seem to pass the test? Why not "cut off" the thing that is tripping you up! Maybe you need to starting hanging around with a different group of friends, or perhaps you need to cancel your internet subscription, and take an extreme measure for purity!

Being a Christian isn't about going to church and doing good things. It's about living Romans 12:1-2---Living counter culture!