AN EMPTY CULTURE

AN EMPTY CULTURE

1 Peter 1: 18 and 19

For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from the fathers, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish.

There are times when I realize that this culture in which I live in is empty.  It promises satisfaction, but it doesn't deliver.  Our culture tells us to have more things, more money, more, more,  more.  If we possess this or that, we will be happy, content, and our problems will disappear.  I have discovered that material possessions do not make me happy.  They certainly can't keep me content for very long.  And my problems are still there, even more so by the money I spent on the very thing that would make me happy.  Of course, then I feel guilty for having spent that money on such a needless item.

I long to seek God's culture.  His culture satisfies me to my most inner being.  Yet, it is so hard to fight against the culture into which I was born and to seek after the Lord's.  His culture promises that if you give, you will receive.  Humble yourselves, and you will be lifted up.  Become weak so you can be strong.  Give sacrificially, and you will be blessed.  Become last so you can be first.  

The deeper our relationship with Christ, the more unrewarding our culture becomes.  The more we seek Him, the less appeal the world has.  We see the bright beauty of the Lord, and we are able to recognize the dull glow of the world.

Let's each of us seek the Lord with renewed life, longing, and love.  Let us reject the world and its empty promises and hold tighter to Jesus, who alone can satisfy us.

Lord Jesus, I thank You for Your culture, for calling for a different way of life.  I repent of my selfishness, my desire to possess more.  Give me more of a giving heart, one that seeks to honor You in all she does.  In Your name, Amen.