Empire

"All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer."

~ Acts 2:42

Are you a "go with the flow" kind of person - someone who likes to blend in with the crowd - or "I want to stand out" kind of person - say, someone who likes to wear bright shirts or do the thing no one else is doing? What motivates you to stand out or not stand out?

As I read through the gospels, one thing I notice is how much Jesus stood out against the religious culture of his day. Not because he wanted to stand out, but because he wanted to align his life with God's purposes, and that made him contrarian to the how many others (especially the religious leaders) were living their lives.

The early church adopted this attitude as well. Summed up in Acts 2:42 and instructed in many of the New Testament letters, the early church set themselves up as a counter-cultural community and began a rhythm of living that was very different from the way of life of the world around them. Rather than conform to the world's values, followers of Jesus developed rules and rhythms of practice to help them grow in love for God, others, themselves, and creation.

Then something happened. Christianity became legal in the Roman Empire, and with this one change, worldliness began to seep into the church, shaping its theology and practices.

Instead of the church changing the empire, the empire began to change the church.

But there were still pockets of people - like the Desert Mothers and Fathers, and the Celtic Christians, and St Benedict (who founded the Benedictine monastic movement) - who desired to pull away from the values of the world around them and dedicate themselves loving God, others, self, and creation as best they could.

These communities began what is called a Rule of Life, which is simply an agreed upon set of practices to help people give attention to and be intentional about where they are going in life. Acts 2:42 is the earliest record we have of a Christian Rule of Life - it outlines the practices the early church followed to shape them into being people of love.

The reason I bring this up is because we all follow a Rule of Life. We all have conscious or unconscious habits and practices (e.g. picking up your phone first thing in the morning), and these habits and practices are shaping us... into something. The question is, "What is influencing these practices, and what shape is it causing us to become?"

PAUSE and REFLECT:

"Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."

~ Romans 12:2

This was Paul's encouragement / warning to the church in Rome (i.e. the church in the heart of the Empire). But it applies to us today, because the world influences us as individual followers of Jesus, and it also influences the church (for example, the rise of Christian Nationalism is a good illustration of how "empire" can shape and influence the church in an ungodly way).

Therefore, we need to ask, "What is shaping me? What is shaping our church culture?" If we are not intentional about it being the love of God, it will be the world. There is no neutral ground where nothing influences us.

So pause and ask yourself, "What practices do I engage in that influence who I am becoming?"

Allow me to suggest establishing your own Rule of Life that will help you be more intentional about engaging in practices that move you to being a person of love. The Rule of Life is a spiritual discipline as old as the church itself. It does not require escaping the world to set up your own monastic community, but it will allow you to be a person of peace in the midst of the busyness of your life.

You live in the middle of Empire, but if you are a follower of Jesus you are no longer a citizen of the Empire. Rather, you are a resident alien. As such, we are called to fight against being shaped by the values of the Empire, and instead live by the values and practices of God's Kingdom.

A Rule of Life will help you do that.