The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation – if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
Colossians 1:15-23 NIVUK
I recently heard the tale of a British vlogger and influencer. This vlogger is obsessed with all things Korean, and in particular a member of Korean pop band BTS. Despite being British in appearance, this particular vlogger has had numerous surgeries, at the cost of more than £100,000, to try and look like the Korean star. If that was not perplexing enough, the vlogger, self-declared as 'non-binary', described 'their' gender as being Korean. That's right: not nationality, but gender. But the vlogger is British, without a Korean passport or citizenship.
Before we mock and treat this vlogger with derision, we need to see them as a product of modern culture. We have created a scenario where a man or women could declare themselves to be a walrus and we would be obliged to feed them fish. We don't meet confusion or dysphoria with counselling or care. Instead, we facilitate it by allowing people to change their identity at will. We have taken freedom too far. We have spoiled and cossetted our young people until they believe that everything is possible, everything is permissable, everything is tolerable. And the result is what we see now.
But what could have caused this confusion?
Let me explain. On our phones and tablets and computers there are mapping apps. They all use satellite technology to pinpoint our position, often with incredible accuracy. For these apps to work, there must be a geographic 'true north': a true 'point zero' against which our position can be plotted in terms of how far away from it, or how near to it, we are.
So much depends on this Global Positioning System. Planes fly by it. Ships sail by it. Cars and trucks are driven by it. Travellers use it to find their way. It's so ubiquitous that it's almost hard to imagine life without it.
But what would happen if we no longer had that true north? What if we no longer had that point zero?
We would have utter chaos.
Yes, I know that the world existed long before satellite navigation. However, before then we had magnetic compasses, pointing north. And before them, sailors used their knowledge of the stars and of ancient mathematics and instruments like sextons to navigate. Even now, in order to find our way back home, it's not unusual to use fixed points like landmarks.
What happens if we wipe them all out in a moment?
We get lost. Confused. We become directionless. We don't know which way to turn. We become anxious. Afraid.
Is this not a perfect description of our culture?
But where did it all come from? How did it start?
I believe it began with the popularisation of aggressive anti-religious, anti-God Enlightenment thinking, was amplified by the insane inhumanities of two needless World Wars, was publicised during the days of the baby boomers through the hedonistic culture of the 50s, the permissive culture of the 60s, the rebellious culture of the 70s, the materialistic culture of the 80s and 90s and is now firmly embedded in the 'woke' culture of the twenty-first century.
Our modern influencers can't be blamed for their current state of moral and spiritual confusion. Like a slowly growing cancer it's been getting worse for generations. As Billy Joel once sang:
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning, since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it
It's time to stop blaming each other for the progressively worse rebellion against God. It's time to start fighting it.
And how do we fight it?
Well, what do we do when we get lost? We look around for landmarks we recognise so we can find our way. We surrender the desire to live without any reference point and look around for something we recognise. We use mapping apps or a compass. Or we retrace our steps until we're back to a place we know.
The Bible has a word for this: repentance:
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,
Acts 3:19 NIVUK
It means to take the humbling step of admitting that you've got it wrong and change your ways until you get it right. And what is that fixed point, that true north, that point zero that will set our lives right again?
Jesus Christ.
Who else could it be?
He alone is our Creator, creating all things just by speaking His powerful Word, supreme above all He has created. We learn of where we come from and discover our dignity, our meaning and purpose when we believe this. Jesus is perfect. He did not make a mistake when He made us
He alone is our Sustainer, sustaining all things by His powerful Word. We are strengthened and become resilient by believing this.
He alone is our Ruler. He rules over His church. He rules over death. He rules over everything. We gain our sense of belonging, our sense of knowing our place in the world, when we believe this.
He alone is our Reconciler. He paid the ultimate price to reconcile God and people, and people with each other. We gain our sense of togetherness and community when we believe this.
So where else could we go? As Peter said:
Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
John 6:68 NIVUK
Christians are not being intolerant, exclusivist or sectarian when they maintain that Jesus Christ is the only true God. It's as reasonable and logical as saying that gravity pulls things downward.
The real question is this: do you believe it? If you lack dignity, meaning, purpose, direction, a sense of belonging and knowing your place in the world, a sense of being part of a loving global community, where else will you find all these things other than in Jesus Christ?
Isn't it time you got to know Him for yourself?
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