Living the Christian life in the age of moral relativism and the absence of absolutes is very challenging for the Christian who takes his/her faith in the risen lord very seriously. With the moral, political and social situation constantly shifting, many believers are forced to constantly adjust their moral scales. With such a permissive culture that has no sense of right or wrong, the Christian is faced with the difficult task of balancing the demands of their faith with the realities of our times. This task of balancing is however made the more difficult by the subtle nature by which the post modern ideology have encroached upon, challenged and seek to undermine those values that have defined us as people and have been the very foundation of our existence. Today everything that reflect the Christian faith is not only scorned at, but is regarded as been subjective thus not tenable in the real and objective world, as such Christian ideas must be expunged from public life because, as the new atheists puts it, it is a danger to society.
This negative attitude towards organized religion particularly the Christian faith is unfortunately evident in the church. Some church leaders have not only espoused post modern ideologies; they now preach it as the gospel truth. To be politically correct and socially acceptable, some churches have gradually scarified the truth of the word of God and the future of the church on the altar of social acceptability and tolerance. It is not uncommon to hear the argument that in other for the church to reach the world, it must become more acceptable and tolerant of other faith.
In the mist of all this confusion is a new generation of Christian believers growing up in an atmosphere so polluted with post modern ideologies that psychological speeches pass for “anointed” messages. Today’s “Christians” are made up (for the most part) of believers who have been fed on a very deficient spiritual diet. Christians who have been so indoctrinated in the school of moral relativism are now growing up to take the pulpit. The situation is so sickening that if the trend is not reversed, people who call themselves believers will have nothing in common with the Christians described in the pages of the scripture. Fortunately our lord never leaves his people without comfort.
In I Kings 19 reading from verse 14 there was a fascinating discursion that ensured between the Lord and Elijah. From verses 15 to 17 of I King 19, the bible tells us And the Lord said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: [16] And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. [17] And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. In other words God gave Elijah an assignment with the intention of halting the further encroachment of the hounds of hell among his people. God gave Elijah a threefold assignment, which was to anoint, commission, and mentor a new generation of the young leaders. With this arrangement God intended to reverse the evil trend in Israel. And reverse it He did when Elijah implemented God’s plan.
Similarly God expects us to get involved in the process of halting and reversing the evil trend that has invaded the Body of Christ, and by extension the nation. How? By following the simple threefold process that Elijah implanted. We as the body of Christ people must take time to identify budding leaders with a heart for God and mentor them in the way of the lord just like Elijah did when he found Elisha (Vs 19). We must take time to grow them in the power and strength of the lord so that they can operate in the true anointing of their calling and then we commission them for the service of the kingdom. The more of these budding leaders we find and mentor the more impact we will have in preserving the faith that was once delivered unto the saints.
This process of reversing the trend requires the cooperation and the working together of two generations. Elijah could not accomplish the task alone; he needed men like Hazel, Jehu and Elisha. Likewise could these new generations of leaders find and fulfill their calling without the input of their fathers in the lord. However with cooperation between the two generations a lot was accomplished. The willingness of Elisha to submit under the authority of Elijah went a long way in providing a successor to the powerful ministry of Elijah the Tishbite.
For the Church to remain relevant, she must find her voice among the myriad of voices. She must cease to be the echo of postmodern ideologies and stand firm on the sure foundation of the eternal word of God. It is not going to be easy. 2 Tim. 3:12 tells us Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Today the Body of Christ has but one option to either accept the status quo and flow with the trend or wake up and challenge the opposing ideologies. The body of Christ can either sink or swim. One way to challenge the onslaught of hell is to generously invest in and effectively equip the next generation of believers so that they can …earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. Jude Vs 3.
