[OBW]

Someone suggested that Lee was right to oppose culture.

I find that to be very odd. Culture is simply the way of the people. Surely there are things in culture to oppose, or to refrain from as a Christian.

But as Christians we have culture. Just a different culture.

The point is not culture. It is why you do what you do. There is much about culture that is essentially benign. Just as money is benign, but love of money is a problem.

I even think that too much concern about how you become sanctified (you can't do it yourself but have to let Christ do it in you, for example) is just as problematic as culture. We have a culture of not doing anything to be righteous, but expecting that Christ will do it in us. And when it doesn't work out that way, excuse ourselves as not "being there yet" or something like that. But Peter said we had all we needed for it. Unless we are going to dismiss him, then I think that maybe the problem is not that we don't already have all we need to do it, it is that we don't even try to do it.

And even though we have everything we need, do you expect that you will simply be sinlessly perfect? Of course not. There is a reason that it still takes working with fear and trembling.

The reason is that it is not as simple as "Christ is going to do it." Yes, he is ultimately the one who does it. But he doesn't force anyone. We still have to act. And try.

That's my latest rant.

And I realize that even I don't really try enough. I could act upon the grace that I have been given yet often do not.