This post comes from Calvary Chapel Pastors
Back in the day of the Jesus Movement, many of us were utterly blown away by the simple revelation that there is a God! We thought everyone would want to know, so we would confront people wherever we went. I’m sure we must’ve looked like fanatics, and our message was a bit simplistic, but we were zealous to tell our friends that they could know God and go to heaven.
Many of us hippies had come to despise the establishment: “Never trust anyone over thirty,” pretty much summed up the mood. “Tune in, and drop out,” was another popular slogan. In our view, the government was corrupt—sending children off to a war that nobody wanted, for greed and power. Organized religion was totally fake—before the child-molestation madness of today.
It was inevitable that many despaired of finding anything that could satisfy the deep hunger we had for meaning. We wanted authenticity and truth, not more empty talk from a man in a clerical collar. We found Jesus, or He found us…
It certainly seems that the culture has come full circle. We’re back at the beginning of the cycle. Many of the “non-denominational” groups spawned during the late 60s-early 70s have become corporate giants, and they have stopped confronting culture altogether, or their focus has turned inward to promoting successful careers and marriages.
In my opinion, we’re even further into the process to despair. One thing that I learned from the Jesus Movement, though, is that God can change the human heart, one at a time…from face to face, and faith to faith.
If you are questioning the meaning of life and searching for a place to belong, the answer is not found on the outside, on circumstances or a change in location, job, or whatever. In a sense, it is found “within,” because we are designed to seek meaning and find real answers to the big questions: Where do I come from? Does my life have meaning?
We won’t have lasting peace and rest until we find the answers. Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God…”
continue reading the views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of Calvary Southampton
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