"Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!" Romans 7:24-25
I can't get past this scripture. There's something about it that's causing me to have a heavy heart, which is interesting because it's a happy scripture of Good News! "Thanks God, for saving us from a crap life of sin!" and yes, that is true, but I think what I'm stuck on is... Do we tend to take this gift from God expectantly, and turn around to go back to our normal lives? All the while feeling good about ourselves because of the Salvation Token we've tucked away in our back pocket? What in our life actually changes when we hear that we are Rescued forever? Does anything change? If something does, what? What is the life of a saved Believer in this day and age supposed to look like? It's supposed to look different from people who haven't heard this News, right? You would think it would have SOME kind of affect on our entire lives, not just on our Sunday mornings. I think about people in my family who either don't know this News, don't believe this News, or just flat out don't care about this News. Does my life look different to them than other peoples' lives? So often I'm curious to know. But how the heck do you find out that information? "Hey, did you notice anything new about me? I stopped cussing! And I can't hang out on Sunday mornings because I have to go to Church. And I got this cute Cross-tattoo on my ankle. Did you notice those things?" What silly things to say to someone who doesn't know Him! And, not to mention, more examples of a spiritually-shallow "relationship" with God (not that those things are bad, I'm just saying should those things be glorified fruit of a life turned over to Jesus?)
What is okay for Christians and what is too worldly? 50 Shades of Grey? Magic Mike? Are these things Christians should be saying "No" to? Or does the boycott of such things create an even greater rift in the Believer/Non-Believer dynamic? Where's the line? I think of scriptures such as Romans 13:13-14: "Don't participate in wild parties and getting drunk, or in adultery and immoral living, or in fighting and jealousy." And in Ephesians 5:3: "Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God's people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes - these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God." Okay, I've got to be honest. My husband and I both LOVE The Office, which is full of coarse jokes and the use of God's name in vain. Here's my struggle! And he and I are also big into the "That's What She Said" jokes. We just are. Does this cross the line? I legitimately want to hear peoples' interpretations of this topic.
I know our lives are supposed to look different. But how different?
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