Live for Christ in the midst of Chaos
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dear community of @steemchurch in this opportunity I wanted to tell you that God does not call us to be passive, but to be active. He calls us to live confidently in the midst of a chaotic world. This book that was inspired by the Holy Spirit to teach and encourage us has much to tell us about living for Christ in the midst of chaos
We could say that there are two kinds of people in life. Some consider themselves victims of life. They get carried away by any current, thinking that their decisions really are not very important. Others take what life gives them, and make the most of it. Instead of wasting time regretting what they do not have, they take what they do have and put it to work.
These two perspectives can be seen in the two shoe salesmen who came to a remote place in Africa to promote the sale of footwear. They both saw the same situation, but they sent very different reports to the headquarters of their respective companies. The first salesman sent this message: "There are no sales here, nobody uses shoes".
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The second seller sent a very different message. "Here we have a huge market," he said. "Everyone is barefoot!" You realize? The two saw the same situation, but they saw it from two very different perspectives. One passively thought that he could not change the situation and sell shoes to people who did not use them, while the other saw an almost unlimited potential.
How do you see life? How do you think God wants his children to see him? Christ said we should be like light in the dark, like salt on a plate. Light changes things. The salt gives another flavor to the food. You and I should not be like thermometers, which simply reflect the environment around them, but like thermostats, which change the temperature.
Today we begin a journey of some months that will take us through the first letter that Paul wrote to the members of the Church of Corinth. The Corinthians lived in a diverse, cosmopolitan and decadent city. In fact, it was so decadent that the word "corintizar", derived from the name of his city, had become synonymous with "prostitution." Actually, Corinth was very similar to the world we inhabit, a world of diverse ideas, of wealth and opportunities, but also of immorality and debauchery.
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Today we see things on television, in schools, at work and in the cinema that we would have never seen a few years ago. He recently made headlines about the next appearance of a lesbian couple on a television show produced by Disney. This production company has generally been considered a source of harmless programs. The fact that he includes a lesbian couple as something normal and acceptable in one of his children's programs represents a very big change in society in general.
Of course, the same changes have been seen in recent years in soap operas, in music, in movies. They are simply reflections of a society that is losing the moral compass. How should we respond as believers in the face of these realities?
The first key to living confident in Christ in a world of chaos is knowing who you are in Christ.
If you are not sure of your identity, the easiest thing is simply to join the world around you. Have you seen the chameleon? Change color, depending on the color of your environment. This is how it hides from predators.
There are many Christians who are like chameleons. They resemble what surrounds them. When they meet in the Church on Sunday, they seem very believers. They have an air of pity. But on Monday at work, they are unrecognizable! Now they look like their co-workers - foul-mouthed, rude, and not always very honest. Do not be a chameleon Christian!
See who tells you verse 2 that you are. We, like the believers in Corinth, have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, and called to be saints. Do you realize the repetition? We have been sanctified to be holy. The duplication of words is as remarkable in the original as it is in Spanish. It is not there by accident or mistake.
When you and I give ourselves to Christ, we come to belong to Him
We have been separated from the world, set apart to belong to Christ. Let me give you an example. Let's say you're in the store, looking to buy a watch. The seller takes out several models, and shows you a variety of styles. Finally, of all the watches that are scattered on the counter, you choose the one you like the most. "I'm taking this one," you say, and you separate it from everyone else.
That clock is now separate for you. In the same way, Christ chose you, when you accepted Him, and separated you from this world. He said of you: "He took me this one", and he separated you from all the others. Now you are consecrated to Him. You are his special possession. You have been sanctified.
But why have you been sanctified? To be holy. In other words, Christ has separated you for himself, so that you live a separate life. He has chosen you to be different from those around you, living a life consecrated to the Lord. Of course, you're going to grow in this. You will not reach maturity overnight.
But do not settle for appearing to others. Rather, it responds to Christ's call to be holy, to be different from the world around you.
The second key to living for Christ in the midst of chaos is knowing what you have in Christ.
Notice what verse 5 says. By faith, Christ has filled us with riches of speech and knowledge. The Corinthians lived in a city where wisdom was appreciated. The Greeks loved to show off their knowledge and their ability to speak eloquently.
Perhaps some of the believers of the Church in Corinth saw their neighbors who were not believers and felt very small compared to the level of education and lip service they had. Paul tells them: In Christ, you are rich in knowledge and also in ability to communicate.
The third key to living for Christ in the midst of chaos is knowing what awaits us in Christ.
This is what gives us hope to live for Christ, whatever happens. Verse 7 mentions the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We know that He will come to take us to be with Him. Whatever happens in this world, we know that we have a security beyond the present.
Verses 8 and 9 give us another security. They tell us that God will keep us firm so that we reach the future that He has prepared for us. If we have truly come to trust in Jesus Christ, He is working in us so that we do not lose all the blessing He has prepared for us.
Each day, He gives us encouragement to continue
If we stumble, He is there to get us up. We do not have to live in constant fear! We can trust that God is holding us. If He already started a good work in us, He will not leave it half-heartedly. It will complete the work that has begun.
Of all these things we will have much more to say in the coming weeks. Now, God is calling you to decide. What kind of person will you be? Will you passively wait to see what will happen? Or will you be among those who grab the opportunities that God gives them and make the most of them?
If you understand who you are in Christ, you can swim against the current of the world. If you know what you have in Christ, you do not have to be ashamed before the world. And if you know what awaits you in Christ, you can move forward confidently, because you know where you're going to end up. With Christ, we can live confidently in the midst of chaos.
Some see the glass half full and others see it half empty. But as you mention it is by faith.
God always allows us to pass through trials to prove what firm we can be in his word and in search of his presence .. But I understand that God does not put proofs that we can not overcome with his great help.