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Think about it: What is a word or phrase in our culture that may also show up in the Bible but with a very different meaning? In truth, there are a lot of them. Our culture may define love one way but the Scriptures provide a deeper understanding. Our culture may define peace as the absence of conflict but the Scriptures may provide a much richer understanding. Similarly, our culture may define freedom in one way but the Scriptures define it differently.
As noted earlier in the week, this is why it’s important to not read the Scriptures, but to allow the Scriptures to read you. If we read God’s Word through the lens of our culture, we may walk away with an incorrect understanding of what God is communicating. But when we allow the Scriptures to read us and transform us, it helps us to see God, ourselves, and others as they really are. It helps us to see our lives and the world we live in through the lens of the kingdom of God. It helps us remember these words from James Bryan Smith: “I am a child of God, one in whom Christ dwells and delights. I live in the strong and unshakeable Kingdom of God, the kingdom is not in trouble and neither am I.”
READING & WRITING:
What are some ways in which Paul had a Kingdom of God mindset and not a cultural one?
What are some ways in which you’re growing in having a Kingdom of God mindset towards how you see the world?
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I recognize that each and every day I am inundated with messages from within my culture. Yet I also recognize that Your Word was written for all people in all cultures. Continue to help me see the world as You do, and to live in such a way that others are amazed by the ongoing hope I have in You. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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