Musings on "American Christianity" and what it means for us...
I become more concerned the more I scroll and the more I read
I hate to say it, but Christianity in the United States has become merely just a “vibe.” When you boil down the new, flashy, watered-down Gospel of “pop-culture Jesus,” it’s all just a fleeting, breathless feeling. It’s no longer about the divine coming to save us. It’s just a new morning routine and lifestyle discipline that people share on social media. It’s just another one of those endless, worldly pressures that seem to suck all of the life out of us. It’s like a dopamine addiction, only to a reconstructed and disfigured Jesus who no longer calls gently to the sheep of His pasture but is rather taken up as a mere martyr whose manifesto is used to inspire one bit of political propaganda after the next.
Yet I’m here to stand and say that Jesus didn’t die on the cross to be used as a way to get riches and prosperity. He didn’t die just to inspire us to try to climb out of the insurmountable void that our sin cast us into. It always goes that way in our world - it always comes back to a sort of theology that “God helps those who help themselves” or “Jesus will give you that beach house and yacht that you always dreamed of if only you worship Him hard enough.”
But that’s what they all miss - we aren’t worthy of Jesus. We aren’t worthy of a God who would be so good as to give us our daily bread. Yet, that doesn’t stop Him from providing for our every need, even our utmost need that was remedied on Calvary. God’s story is so much more than the things of this world. God’s story is a sneak peek into the depths of His love, which we will only fully realize when we are brought into His presence. However, right now, we aren’t there yet. So, as a broken people, how do we live in this world where the pitfalls of fake gospels and false promises lie around us everywhere?
First of all, we must realize that we aren’t worthy of God’s love. We are sinners who rather deserve God’s swift judgment. In his letter to the Romans, Paul writes, “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). The payment for our sin, even if we sinned just once, is eternal separation from God. Fortunately, God didn’t want that for us and Paul doesn’t end this verse with that phrase. Paul continues, “but the undeserved gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (also, Romans 6:23).
We must not only recognize that we are unworthy sinners but that we have a gift given to us by God through His mercy and grace. It has a name, and it is called “salvation.” Christ won this for us on the cross, as He himself said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:16–17). This salvation is not temporal, but eternal. This grace is not worldly, but divine and all-surpassing. God intended it to be this way, to cover the sins of all people because He “wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).
This salvation is not obtained by our own doing but only through His Holy Word and Sacraments where He deigns to be present. We do not find God by our own wanderings or seeking, but rather, He finds us and comes to us through these blessed means. He does not come by glorious means, but rather, He comes by humble means. As a baby born in a manger in an insignificant town called Bethlehem. Through mere words. In water and in bread and wine. God uses these common means to come to everyone. He puts to shame the glory of worldly kings and rulers and is found in meekness and humility. He is a king who gives Himself up for His people. It is not our own good doings which the prophet Isaiah calls, “filthy rags” that could ever win his favor, but it is solely because of the wonders of His bountiful mercy and unending grace. “Indeed, it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9).
Worship was not meant to be flashy but common and full of beauty. Sermons were not meant to be talk shows or coffee chats, but the good news preached to all people. The hymns that we sing are not solely to praise God but to teach each other and remind each other of the great gift that we find in His House, the Church.
Christianity isn’t a movement. It isn’t just a way of life. It’s a way from life to life. A way that leads to the arms of the Heavenly Father where there will be no more tears, nor sighing, nor pain. A way that leads back to the Tree of Life. A way that leads back to Zion (that is heaven).
God’s story is not found in the fleeting things of this world. God’s story is found where the ordinary becomes divine. God is found right here in your heart. God dwells within you through His Holy Spirit. You are part of God’s story, not because of the great things you did, but because of the great things He did for you. Now, you can cry out, “Abba, Father!” to the one who has adopted you from the dominion of darkness and brought you into glorious light.
That’s the true power of the Gospel. It’s not a power of this world. It’s not found in the riches of this world. It’s found at the foot of the cross. It’s found in the God who died for us. It’s found in mercy and love.
God doesn’t care about our politics or the things of this world because those things will never last. May He grant us the strength to fix our eyes and focus on Him, for He is the only way forward and the only answer. He is your all in all. He is what your soul is longing for. He is what you truly need.