Faithfulness to the Lord of all Creation is cultural faithfulness; it is faithfulness in every realm of human experience, from science to sports, from making movies to making babies, from how we build relationships to how we relate to buildings. Following Christ is a matter first of inner transformation, and then of living faithfully in accord with the order of Creation as he made and is redeeming it, in all of our cultural convictions and practices concerning a host of abstractions and concrete realities: food, sex, time, music, history, language, technology, family, justice, beauty, agriculture, and community.
–Ken Myers of Mars Hill Audio
This is so true. It reminds me of something I tried to impart (poorly I’m sure) to the youth group of my former parish. In a brief talk, I tried to remind them that the purpose of their lives was to glorify God. They got this look on their faces like I had just told them their lives were going to be devoid of all joy. But we can “glorify God” in all aspects of our lives, indeed, even in the ordinary living of our lives. We need not always go to church to glorify God. We can do glorify him in seeing a movie; in cooking dinner for our family; in exercising; in reading; in having a martini; or in working. If these things are not sinful in themselves, and we do them with righteousness, we can offer them to God and to his glory. This is what I think Luther meant when he said (I’m paraphrasing from memory here) that when he drinks a beer, and his conscience suddenly accuses him that his drinking is sinful, he remembers Christ’s sacrifice, and raises his beer to the glory of God.
Ouroboros
Good example. I would also commend the example of the Christians in the British Isles (the ones we call “Celtic Christians”) who beleived that God needed to be invited into our daily lives, and so devised songs and prayers and blessings for everything from washing up in the morning, to kindling the fire, to milking the cow, to churning the butter, to weaving at the loom, etc. etc. Not to say that their lives were spent in total meditation on God, but certainly more so than ours is today.
Anyone interested in reading some of these prayers can look at the [url=http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/corpus/Carmina/] Carmina Gadelica[/url].
Peace
Jim Elliott <>< One example: [u]BLESSING OF THE KINDLING[/u] I will kindle my fire this morning In presence of the holy angels of heaven, In presence of Ariel of the loveliest form, In presence of Uriel of the myriad charms, Without malice, without jealousy, without envy, Without fear, without terror of any one under the sun, But the Holy Son of God to shield me. Without malice, without jealousy, without envy, Without fear, without terror of any one under the sun But the Holy Son of God to shield me. God, kindle Thou in my heart within A flame of love to my neighbour, To my foe, to my friend, to my kindred all, To the brave, to the knave, to the thrall, O Son of the loveliest Mary, From the lowliest thing that liveth, To the Name that is highest of all. O Son of the loveliest Mary, From the lowliest thing that liveth, To the Name that is highest of all.