When I read this story this morning, I knew I needed to write on it, but not for the reasons you might think.
Last Saturday, a paraglider in Austria was floating along when a Cessna 172 flew overhead and shredded her sail to pieces. The woman, identified on social media only as Sabrina, began spinning and plummeted to the earth. Somehow, she was able to pull her emergency chute and landed relatively unharmed.
In the caption of her now-viral selfie video, Sabrina writes that May 23 will always be like a second birthday to her, since she knows how lucky she is to be alive.
I have no way to connect personally with her experience, since heights and I are not friends. (When I fly, I read the entire time and pretend we’re on the ground.) Nor have I had the privilege of visiting Austria. And the next selfie video I record that goes viral will be my first.
But like Sabrina, I have had a second birthday. If you are a born-again believer, the same is true for you.
The key to the Christian life is to experience every day what we experienced on that day.
Why I won’t celebrate Rosh Hashanah
My editor makes the Daily Article possible, not only with her excellent editorial work each morning but also by handling the technology that posts the article to the website and distributes it via email. Yesterday, she and I were discussing my Memorial Day article and the fact that so many Americans seem to have lost the purpose of the day.
She and her husband have a theory: Much less of the population today knows someone who died for our country. Between World War II and Vietnam, there was a day when nearly everyone knew someone who had served, and many knew someone who had died in the service. Today, both are much less common experiences, and it’s harder to commemorate something with which we don’t have a personal relationship.
I think she’s right, and not just with regard to Memorial Day.
- Eid al-Adha is a major Islamic holiday, honoring Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son. However, I will not take part when it begins tomorrow, because I am not a Muslim.
- Saga Dawa Düchen is the holiest day of the year for Tibetan Buddhists. However, I will not take part when it is observed this Friday, because I am not a Buddhist.
- Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year. However, I will not take part when it is observed this September, because I am not Jewish.
If I lived in a nation that celebrated these holidays, I would want to find ways to participate that align with my Christian worldview. It is therefore unsurprising that secular Americans would find secular ways to celebrate Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. And it is unsurprising that Americans with no personal connection to those who died in military service to our nation would be less motivated to honor their memory in personal ways.
This principle is highly relevant not just to our culture but to our souls.
“Remember what you are saved for”
The purpose of Christianity is nothing less than reversing the Fall and restoring us to the image of God in Christ. Oswald Chambers noted, “Remember what you are saved for—that the Son of God might be manifested in your mortal flesh.” C. S. Lewis likewise noted in Mere Christianity:
The Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons… are simply a waste of time. God became Man for no other purpose.
Being “born again” is therefore only the beginning of the Christian life (John 3:7). Like a spiritual baby, we are intended to grow in Christ (2 Peter 3:18) until we become like Christ (Romans 8:29). And we become like Christ by walking with Christ, living in intimate fellowship with our Savior every day, abiding in him as branches abide in the vine (John 15:5).
Being religious is not enough. Paul warned Timothy about “having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:5). The “appearance of godliness” changes nothing; the power of God changes everything (cf. Zechariah 4:6).
We can expect secular Americans to reject Christianity unless they see Christ in us (Colossians 1:27). If we offer only one more religion among many, why would irreligious people be interested? If our faith does not change our lives, why would they expect it to change theirs?
But if we walk in intimate fellowship with the living Lord Jesus every day, others will see Christ in us. We will demonstrate his character and compassion, speaking his truth and manifesting his love, and they cannot be the same. Some will reject us as they rejected him, but multitudes will be drawn to our Lord (cf. Matthew 8:1; 15:30).
And our lives will be restored to the purpose for which they are intended, with the abundant joy known only to those who are “more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).
“There is only one relationship that matters”
I’ll close with my favorite paragraph from My Utmost for His Highest, where Oswald Chambers noted:
There is only one relationship that matters, and that is your personal relationship to a personal Redeemer and Lord. Let everything else go, but maintain that at all costs, and God will fulfill his purpose through your life.
Then he added, “One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purposes, and yours may be that life.” While I appreciate his wisdom, I would change “may be” to “is.”
Do you agree?
Quote for the day:
“The secret is Christ in me, not me in a different set of circumstances.” —Elisabeth Elliot
Our latest website resources:
Denison Forum
DAILY DEVOTIONS, NEWS AND INFORMATION 