By Josanne Anthony, SAVED News Correspondent
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”Acts 1:8
Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”Matthew 28:20
Ronald Reagan was quoted as saying, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”
A friend of mine shared this quote with her thought: “Same as Christianity.” Is that possible?
Let’s take the quote and replace “freedom” and “men” with “Christianity” and “Christians.”
“Christianity is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where Christians were free.”
While extinction may never happen for Christianity, the commitment to our Savior does face the possibility of additional hardships as the world embraces greater and greater lifestyles and acceptance of sin.
Considering that the length of a generation is approximately 25 years, we as followers of Jesus Christ have a serious responsibility on our hands. Many, many things will change in the span of two-and-a-half decades, and that includes the realm of Christianity. Jesus does not change, but His followers live in an ever-changing society, and if we aren’t careful, we will find that we are changing right along with it, and not for the better. If we find ourselves adjusting our lifestyles and convictions to society and its norms, we dilute the powerful and victorious message that Jesus intended, thus representing a Savior that no longer has the power to save us from sin.
We must examine ourselves and honestly evaluate who we are and where we are in our Christian walk. Let us ask ourselves: Do I follow John 14:15, which says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments?” Do I work on the trouble areas of my life that I am aware of, or allow them to remain in my life without disturbing their comfort?
Is the fruit of the Spirit evident and working in my life? Do I have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control growing in me? Or, do I recognize the works of the flesh in my own life and allow them to continue, which are sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these? (Galatians 5:19-23)
When we’ve been born again, old things must change. If we allow our experience with God to stop short of a journey of transformation, we are not fighting for the cause we claim to love. Jesus never told us it would be easy. Christ Himself willingly gave His physical body and was tortured horrendously in order to offer salvation to mankind. He isn’t asking us to do the same. Jesus wants us to be living sacrifices that are “dead” to our own whims and fleshly desires while surrendering to what He desires for our lives. The results and rewards not only bless our lives but add to paving the way for the future generations that will want to know Jesus. Our testimonies of salvation, power and a right relationship with God will be the witness that will impact future generations.
As the world around us continues to search for carnal solutions for the many problems facing society today, let us be Christians through and through, working on ourselves and sharing the great Gospel with others. Future generations will be grateful for those of us who kept truth and spiritual power alive in our lives, receiving the opportunity to experience it for themselves.
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