Relevantly Realistic

As the mass of teenagers arrived at the high school, my young boys and I observed how they presented themselves to the world around them. We watched as an attractive young lady walked past, enduring the disrespectful calls from a boy across the street. His careless dress accentuating a general attitude of rebellion, revealing the hidden motivations of his heart. A little distance off another group of young ladies, having heard what the boy said, turned a cold stare upon the same girl, their jealousy revealing the same rebellion.

As the light turned green and we were beginning to drive off, something else caused me to pause for a moment. Out of the corner of my eye, a very different young man caught my attention. Obviously in an ROTC program (Reserve Officer Training Corp), the boy was sharply dressed in his uniform, pants creased, shirt buttoned, and shoes shined. Next to him, on the farthest side of the sidewalk from the road, walked a young lady who was apparently his sister. She too was dressed modestly and she seemed to ignore the other students as she contentedly strolled along beside her protector. They both had a smile on their face and there was a general air of mutual respect and dignity for each other.

I drove off and was left to consider the contrast I had just witnessed. It reminds me of 2 Corinthians 2:15-16 which says, “For we are unto God a sweet fragrance of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:  To the one we are the fragrance of death unto death; and to the other the fragrance of life unto life…”

We, the church, are to shine in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, to testify of the sweet fragrance of Christ. But that fragrance has a two-fold effect. It is either attractive for those who desire it for themselves, or it is offensive to those who are perishing.

It comes to me that just by being on campus, that young man’s presence was speaking to those around him, he was making a difference. Whether he was trying to or not is irrelevant, he had a sweet smelling aroma about him and his life was testifying. He was light in the darkness.

There is a philosophy that is present in the church which speaks of relevance. We need to stay relevant with our culture or we will not be attractive to them. However, I wonder just how relevant we can be before we look just the same as the culture we have been called to be cut out of and separated from.

There is an old saying which goes something like this: “If a person has fallen into a pit, it does little good for the rescuer to climb down into the pit with them.” Meaning, how can we help to pull them out if we are in the same place as them?

Jesus told us to let our lights shine, not to cover them with a basket. Light shines the brightest when it is in contrast with darkness. Let’s be careful to not turn off our lights in order to help, lest we lose our own way as we walk with the world in darkness.