Learning to Cry for the Culture

I just read a good article at Christianity Today Online about Francis Schaeffer, one of the most important Christian Philosophers and thinkers of the 20th century. It is written by musician and author John Fisher. In the article, Fisher tells us what he learned from Francis Schaeffer as he reflects on a time that he heard him speak at Wheaten University more than a couple of decades ago. I'll only share several quotes that I found resoundingly important for us to consider, then link you to the original article.

Fisher writes: "Instead of shaking our heads at a depressing, dark, abstract work of art, the true Christian reaction should be to weep for the lost person who created it. Schaeffer was a rare Christian leader who advocated understanding and empathizing with non-Christians instead of taking issue with them."

Then this, with which I so heartily agree.

"Jesus asked us to love our enemies. Part of loving is learning to understand. Too few Christians today seek to understand why their enemies think in ways that we find abhorrent. Too many of us are too busy bashing feminists, secular humanists, gay activists, and political liberals to consider why they believe what they do. It's difficult to sympathize with people we see as threats to our children and our neighborhoods. It's hard to weep over those whom we have declared enemies.

Perhaps a good beginning would be to more fully grasp the depravity of our own souls and the depth to which God's grace had to go to reach us. I doubt we can cry over the world if we've never cried over ourselves."

Yes, these short thoughts are exactly the reason to have your students and older children read the writings of Francis Schaeffer, pray and ponder over them, then do something positive in the culture; engage and be in the world and not of it, to try to be of help and make a difference.

Sincerely,

Javamom