Spiritual Living in a Secular World - Quotations

Following yesterday's entry about Ajith Fernando's book Spiritual Living in a Secular World, I have selected some interesting quotes. More to follow!

From the back cover and the Introduction:
‘Christians today often feel without a voice: a minority in an indifferent world. Should we withdraw? Get stuck in, despite blurred boundaries? Like the Israelites in Babylon, for many of us this is a time of temptation and defeat.’
‘This book is written out of the conviction that the experiences of Daniel and his friends can equip us for spiritual living in an increasingly secular world.’

“Christians today are often accused of being narrow-minded, of trying to impose their views on others, of destroying the culture of the people, of lacking integrity, and of many other things. People end up having a stereotype of what Christians are like – and that image isn’t very flattering. Yet when people meet committed Christians who are honest, hard-working, concerned for others, and polite, they are forced to reconsider their opinion of the gospel. This winsome witness of laypeople challenges the false stereotypes of Christianity prevalent in society.” [Page 14, 15.]

“The first approach to society is isolation. Some Christians say that because society is evil and against the kingdom of God they won’t get very involved in it. They don’t know much about what is happening in the world. They just survive and do church work. But with that approach we cannot fulfil Christ’s call to be ‘the salt of the earth’ (Matthew 5:13). Salt cannot do its work unless it penetrates the substance on which it acts. Even God, the eternal Word, had to become flesh and make his dwelling among us (John 1:14) before he saved us. When praying for his disciples Jesus said, ‘My prayer is not that you take them out of the world… As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world’ (John 17:15, 18). With such words from the lips of our Master, we cannot isolate ourselves from the world.” [Page 17]

“An eminent British physician, Dr David Short, who was the chief of Clinical Medicine in the University of Aberdeen, says this to his fellow Christian doctors: ‘I think the low priority accorded to the reading of God’s Word is one of the greatest sources of weakness of Christians in our generation… Admittedly this takes time; and time is a rare commodity. But we can take time for anything we regard as important. If we only knew how our lives would be transformed if we made time to wait on God and read his Word, we should find the time somehow.’ Dr Short says that one of the most important habits he learned from his father, who was also a doctor, ‘was that of reading a part of the Bible every day.” [Page 20]

“Christians will always find that they are going against the tide. Therefore they must always be careful to maintain ‘gentleness and respect’. (...) Let us pray that unpopularity will never come to us because we are disrespectful or impolite. Let us pray that the charge of arrogance that is often made against us is always totally unfounded.” [Page 28 and 29]

“Now we often say, ‘Don’t look at us, look at Jesus.’ But before looking at Jesus, many people will first look at his followers to see whether what he has done for them makes Jesus worth looking at. Jesus himself knew this. So he said, ‘Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven’ (Mathew 5:16). Elsewhere he said, ‘By their fruit you will recognise them’ (Matthew 7:20).”

“Today there is a great need for us to emphasise the primacy of the joy of the Lord in the Christian life. I hope you do not mind my saying that I got quite concerned when I came to the West*. I found that when Christians talked about the blessings of God they mentioned things that most Christians in Sri Lanka could never have – like vacations in lovely spots, meals at fancy restaurants, cars and new dresses. Yet I do not think our people are less happy than those in the West, for the source of deepest joy has nothing to do with these things. So let’s put these earthly things low in our list of priorities. Then if we are deprived of them we will not worry too much. This, in turn, will make us more available to do whatever God wants, for we will be willing to make whatever earthly sacrifice that calling entails.” [Page 34]

* Ajith Fernando is from Sri Lanka. This remark reminds me of similar things said by Sadhu Sundar Singh. This famous disciple of Christ from India said that the West is behaving like Judas: ‘They have lived with Jesus for a long time, but they have betrayed Him’.

“The truth of God’s sovereignty over our circumstances may not come to each of us immediately when we face a crisis. Often our natural reaction is to be afraid and anxious. There are numerous examples of God’s great servants who were distressed over what they were encountering. Elijah told God he wanted to die (1 Kings 19:4). Jeremiah wished he had never been born (Jer 15:10; 20:14-15). Asaph said that it was in vain that he had lived a righteous life (Ps 73:13). In those times they acted without applying the promises of God to their situations. Yet these people did not proclaim their doubts in public and let others suffer because of their struggles. Instead they went to God and sought an answer. And answers did come to each of them.” [Page 44]