As we all know, we become a new creation the moment we give our lives to Jesus. We become a new creature and the old one is lost. The moment we are baptized in water and rise again, the old “me” dies underwater and a new “me” emerges. That is to say: a new me, a Christ-like me.
Yesterday, I was scrolling through the internet and came across a post about culture. In this case, it was about my own culture, so I can stay close to home. It was about the rituals performed when someone dies within that culture and the steps you’re supposed to take. Now, that’s not what this blog is about, but I’m just sharing this to give you an idea of what I was thinking about.
As I read it, I recognized things in it. As I said, it had to do with my own culture, so yeah, that hit home. But at the same time, my new self—my new spirit—showed me that many of these things are at odds with the Word. The Word of God, that is. And although we’ve been taught this for a long time—it’s something we’ve inherited from our ancestors and passed down from generation to generation—that doesn’t mean it’s pleasing to Papa.
We need to be very mindful of the question of for whom or what we live. Do we live for the culture we come from? Do we live for what our ancestors have passed down to us? Or do we want to live for God from this day forward? That was, so to speak, what was revealed to me.
I understand that culture is passed down from generation to generation and that is how it comes into being. Culture is therefore often region-specific. But is it also pleasing to God? He prompted me to write this blog to remind you—and of course myself, because I’m always preaching to the choir—that just because something is a custom and the people before us did it that way, it doesn’t automatically mean that’s what He asks of us.
So, what do you live for? Do you hold on to culture, or do you hold on to the Word of God? Let me know in the comments section—I’d love to hear from you!
Liefs,
Alicia
