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The United States Is Strategic For God's Kingdom
by Do you desire world-wide exposure, missions expert? If you live in the United States, then you have multitudes from other countries going in and out of your country every day. The U.S. is famous for its fluctuating ethnic diversity. In the case of international college students, they stay for three to ten years soaking up everything they can. These students sometimes stay forever. Since the American church is so fascinated with international missions I suppose all this international traffic must leave the U.S. feeling saturated with the kingdom of heaven, right? No, obviously not. However, we can at least be encouraged by this miraculous amount of international exposure because it demonstrates God's faithfulness to plant us in the midst of spiritual opportunities. If we Americans want to know God more, then we ought to obey Him more right now. We will dive deeper into Christ's Divinity as we live on His terms wherever He has already placed us. If we desire more widespread spiritual influence then we ought to obey Him right here, in the most ethnically diverse country in the world. We will find by experience that God extends our obedience into the furthest corners of the world by His own authority. For whatever reason, right now the world's attention is fixed on the United States. People are infected far and wide by the American dream. So we might as well take this opportunity to tell them, while they are listening, that the American dream is bunk, but Jesus Christ is Lord. While they are still watching, let them see us cast off shallow superficialities in favor of embracing the eternal extravagance of Christ. While they are watching, let the peoples perceive that, with God, anything is possible. I don't care about getting attention for attention's sake. But it is a fact, regardless, that the U.S. is currently holding the world's attention. God doesn't need the United States per se, nor does He care one whit about the things men admire. But we might as well use what we've got as long as we've got it. The possibilities are endless for us when we set out to live as God's stronghold of truth. Reality is that the U.S. is the world's leading exporter of western, materialistic, distracted culture. We Americans, churched or un-churched, make Godless living so attractive that the rest of the world cannot resist it. In other words, this church-laden country is having anything but a Godly effect on the world. And the fruits of what we really believe are self-evident the world over. Countries are trading in millennia of traditions and values in favor of snapping up every western comfort and innovation they can get their hands on. So it goes that western culture settles for nothing less than squashing every other culture under its floral-painted, steel-toe boots. My experience at Arizona State University has been that international students require a very small amount of time to soak up all the glories of our individualistic, career-driven mindset. Students may still reserve a fondness for their own ways, but they cannot avoid being heavily influenced by the American way. They resist American ideals as effectively as a man might stand his ground against a 200-foot tidal wave. by Patrick Roberts. Find additional resources at www.BooksByPatrick.com and www.KoGmedia.com Patrick is an average Christ-seeker. His goal is to turn people to Jesus Christ. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |