“The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose, new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. …Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective.”
— G.K. Chesterton
I read this quote today, and agree. You cannot really expect much different (or new) in this coming year, unless YOU are new in some way. A new resolve? A new habit? A new way of praying? A new way of serving? Think about it…
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Immediately following the terror strikes of 9/11 the churches of our country swelled with new attenders — with those wishing to draw near to God, or deal with their fears, or for other reasons. Yet they didn’t stay long. Commenting on this return to “pre-9/11 levels” of spiritual activity, Dr Al Mohler makes this profound observation:
“Spirituality is what is left when authentic Christianity is evacuated from the public square. It is the refuge of the faithless seeking the trappings of faith without the demands of revealed truth. Spirituality affirms us in our self-centeredness and soothingly tells us that all is well. Authentic faith in Christ call us out of ourselves, points us to the Cross, and summons us to follow Christ.”
— CULTURE SHIFT (2008), p. 51
In these post-election days, I sense this ebb and flow — away from truth and toward this civil spirituality, which is no threat to self-centered living. How sad. We who love the truth of God’s Word certainly have our work cut out for us.
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The Breadline 