The Dynamic Life

-Somewhere between being rooted and wandering

By Lu Yun-zhi

And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. (Heb. 11:13)

The evangelist's smile...

Some Christians seem to be very serious, people who never smile. They must be either saints or egocentrics. Everything they do is done with great solemnity. Then one day we see them begin to smile, startling everyone around them, "There must be an evangelistic outreach coming up!" they tell one another; so they call that smile the evangelist's smile.

A vexing problem...

Many Christians busily serving in the church and attending to their personal spiritual growth are at the same time needing to work on their own careers and family life. They are also trying to be good citizens, and good neighbors and good whatever... They find it really challenging knowing how to share out their time appropriately and even more difficult to work out what to do when their Christian beliefs are at odds with worldly culture or how to handle these conflicts in a mature way rather than simply trying to avoid them.

Our main problem is that while as Christians we live in this world, yet we do not belong to this world (John 17:13-19). It is not always easy to make the right responses to this many-faceted world we live in. But when we really grasp what the goals of the Christian life are, and know how to get there, we can make right choices. But if we have not yet understood the origin of the conflicts, then we may indeed find ourselves caught in awkward situations like those described above.

A dynamic equilibrium...

According to our faith and the teachings of the Bible, there are resources available to us as we live out the Christian life. These resources are dynamic and they affect our life in a balanced way. Look at this list of these factors with some brief explanations:

1. Creation - God Almighty created you and me. Every one of us bears the image of God and every one of us has the potential to create. So as we live in this world, we can live up to the potential God has bestowed on us and act always in a spirit of optimism.

2. The Fall - human nature has been corrupted by sin. We are all children of Adam. Every day we face temptations from outside as well as sinful forces from within our own hearts. We must clearly recognize the fact that we are all corrupted.

3. The End - the end is near. One day all things of this world will pass away. We will all face the judgment of God. None of our achievements, hard work or relationships will be preserved into eternity.

4. Salvation - by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and by our repentance and faith, you and I have been reconciled with our Heavenly Father and received eternal life. Salvation has opened a door of hope for otherwise hopeless individuals.

5. The Great Commission - this is the goal set before every saved individual. We are to draw near to God and also to share God's love with other people. We must follow the example of Christ, spread the Gospel and help others to become the Lord's followers.

Being both rooted and wandering...

Some people believe that the life of creation is optimistic, while teachings about the Fall and the End are pessimistic. Yet all these teachings are from the Bible, in spite of the fact that in many ways they seem to contradict each other. The former teaches that man should be pro-active and participate positively in human society. The latter points to a pessimistic view of the future of the world; it teaches unworldliness and transience. Like ancient monks, men need to make sure that they themselves are good but they cannot ensure that the world is good.

Indeed, each of these two aspects poses its own dilemmas, and church history has many examples. Those who emphasize creation may be in danger of falling for a social gospel or a prosperity theology. Those who stress the Fall and the End are likely to lean toward mysticism and theories of the Last Days.

Actually a Christian's world outlook is based on both the doctrine of Creation and that of the Fall and the End, along with the Great Commission and the goal of ultimate salvation. We do not ignorantly and blindly express optimism in relation to the world, nor do we lag pessimistically behind. We participate in all social activities with compassion, eternal hope and joy.

It is like someone driving a car. Before he can drive smoothly to his destination, he needs to have a whole range of skills ennabling him to control the steering wheel, gas panel, brake and clutch. And Christians need to follow all the Biblical principles discussed above as they arrange their priorities. Then they can be sure of their direction and take the right way. This is not some kind of static equilibrium. It is dynamic life-filled Christian faith