Not only living in a world that is full of sin, but a world that makes sin look good, makes living the godly life in which we as Christians are called to live extremely difficult. I used to think that the peer pressure of high school would go away after I graduated, however, this was not necessarily the case. When I began college, I was surprised to see how much peer pressure still remained. I have come to realize that no matter where I am in life, I will still have the choice to fall in or out of peer pressure.
Many people who call themselves Christians, or "Followers of Christ," have different perspectives on how to live their lives. The culture and society of today, America especially, has suggested that we have the ability pick and choose what we want to do with our lives.
"It's your life, so choose what will make you happy"
This is the phrase that is often given as advice to the high school senior struggling to decide on what university to attend, the college student trying to decide what to do after graduation, what degree to pursue, where to move, what car to buy, whether or not to take out loans, purchase a car, house, all material goods in which Americans put so much more value on over their eternal life with Christ.
What would it look like if the Church turned the foolish advice quoted above into advice full of wisdom?
"It's your life, so choose what will be pleasing in the eyes of the Lord your God who created you"
What would it look like if the Church of Christ began to live by asking this question before making decisions for themselves in the lives that were given to them by God?
Sometimes God's plan for our lives may seem crazy. However, I have witnessed some very godly people do some very "crazy" things in which they felt was God's calling, and they ended up abundantly blessed. This is not only seen in the world in which we live today, but also throughout history. Abraham was told he would be the father of a great nation and that there would be a promised land when he was of very old age (Gen. 17:7), Abraham is later told to take his son, Isaac, to a mountain and sacrifice him (Gen. 22:2), Moses was commanded to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go even though he was afraid (Exod. 3:16), Joshua and his men are commanded to march around the City of Jericho for six days (Josh. 6:3)... the Bible is full of stories in which people then would have thought to be crazy. However, the Israelites, God's own people are a prime example of what it looks like when someone does not obey the Lord's commands. In the book of Exodus, the Lord gives the Israelites so many opportunities to be pleasing in his sight, but they often rebel. Because of this, that generation wanders the wilderness for forty years, and never enter into the promised land.
Are you obeying the Lord's commands or are you wandering the wilderness?
