Thinking about revival has led me to read about revival. I am impressed with much of what Brian Edwards writes about the subject. His definition of revival is a "remarkable increase in the spiritual life of a large number of God's people, accompanied by an awesome awareness of the presence of God, intensity of prayer and praise, a deep conviction of sin with a passionate longing for holiness and unusual effectiveness in evangelism, leading to the salvation of many unbelievers." I don't know that such a thing has occurred in my lifetime--on a large scale at any rate. It seems that we in the West are much too aware of our "freedom in Christ" to do whatever we want and are too consumed with busy-ness to pray for such a moving of God's Spirit in our lives--or my life anyway. The revivals of the 18th and 19th centuries resulted in large scale social action--and had a long-lasting effect on individuals and culture.
The BBC last night reported on the arrest of the polygamist in the US. The reporter was asked why America seems to be more prone to the growth of these huge and dangerous cults centered on one dynamic figure. He replied that he wasn't religious at all, so he didn't really understand the phenomenon. However, he said since America is so religious, he thinks authorities aren't willing to prosecute such people because of fears of stepping on people's rights to religious freedom.
Are we so religious? I'm not sure we are anymore, although I know George Bush was elected by the religious right as much as anybody. If we are religious, it doesn't seem that we're striving after holiness....
We had lunch with an Indian couple today. She is a convert from Hinduism and he grew up in a Christian home. I couldn't help but reflect on the difference in attitude toward spiritual things. As young people they grew up learning more than 1,000 Bible verses. Their 6-year-old son is eager for Sunday School to start back up on Sunday so he can learn his Bible verses!
My own spiritual state is really the only one I can address, although I can pray for spiritual revival in the lives of those around me as well as for myself. I have been personally seared by reading about God's rejection of Cain's sacrifice. Cain's worship was off-base; I wonder how often my own worship (corporate or personal) is off-base?
On the Kitzbuehler Horn
About Me
- Annelise
- At age 57, after spending the previous 24 years in one place,my husband and I upped and moved to another country and culture. This has been a bit scary, as we now live on a very small salary, and are far away from our family. At the same time, it's kind of cool to do something this adventurous before retirement!
2 comments:
Really good thoughts, Mom. I think some of my own musings have been along the same lines, from maybe a slightly different angle. (Can the same lines be at a different angle?) That observation about Cain was particularly poignant. Why does that story never get told that way? It seems like we're too uncomfortable with his rejection, so we just focus on the fact that he murdered his brother, without trying to figure out how we might be like him--and how not to be.
Thanks, Jenn. You'll probably be the only one who ever finds this! Actually, there are lots of ways we're like Cain, I think. Maybe that will be the subject of today's blog....
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