One of our challenges as Christians is to serve the Lord and love one another in this world, while – at the same time – not adopting the ways of it. This can be especially challenging when it comes to issues that our culture prizes which are directly opposed to what the Lord has told us. The temptation, however, doesn’t end there: we can also start to think that addressing such controversies are what matters most in our faith, that they should take up our best time and thinking. When we give in to this urge, we all too easily set aside the call to love one another, to love our neighbors, and to love our Lord. We trade care for anger; a desire to persuade and convince, for argument. There ends up being lots of light, but very little actual heat, which translates into very little change of heart.
In that vein, I want to bring three articles to our attention today. Each addresses a “hot button” issue in our culture. In doing this, I have two goals: first, that we would grow in our thinking and understanding of what the Lord has said and how we should live and respond according to His word. And second: by posting these links today, yet not making any of these (or similar) topics the focus of our posts every week, my goal is to model what it means to keep “the main thing, the main thing.”
- Alan Schlemon writes a helpful article on the reality that human beings are either male or female – a truth observed not simply from science or biology, but also from the scriptures.
- Given that the legal basis for abortion in the United States (Roe vs. Wade) has once more been in the news, I find Kevin DeYoung’s article to be informative and insightful. Collin Hansen has a good editorial that models well how to think through the potential legal changes.
- A brief update from the EFCA about our denomination’s efforts to help Ukrainian citizens and a reminder of ways you can get involved – including a reminder to pray.
