Culture Wars Being Won

I was in church this morning worshiping with the people of God and here's what I noticed:

- People of every age and therefore generational culture, worshiping together with joy, most of them enjoying varying generational styles
- People of white American, Italian, African-American, Moroccan, Hebrew, European, and Asian decent and culture (and probably more that I'm overlooking) all joining hearts to worship
- People rescued from seriously drug-addicted, alcohol-devastated, violent, criminally guilty, abortion-scarred, abused, divorced, self-righteous, poverty-stricken, well-to-do, educated, and illiterate personal and cultural backgrounds, all loving Christ and living new lives in Him.
- People who like jazz and country and classical and rock and roll and who knows how many other varying music cultures, all singing with one voice
- People, some who are single, some who are married, some who are divorced, some who have children and no spouse, and some with a spouse but no children, and some who have been bereaved of spouse and/or children--all living in a different personal "culture," but all coming together as the family of God with one Father in heaven and Savior-husband for their souls.

In all these case I saw people whose culture and whose lives were being redeemed by Christ, restored by grace, recovered by the power of God. Here were living evidences that some culture wars are being won.

This reminds me that in the end the only real work that redeems people and cultures is the work of the gospel. Cultures do not change by changed laws or political forces at work. Cultures change only as people change, and people change only as they come into contact with the gospel which is the power of God unto salvation.

So whatever else we do let us never forget to proclaim in our times the message of the One who died for our sins and rose from the dead, because in the end nothing so changes people as the gospel of God's saving and changing grace.