Rebellion.
The word has a bad connotation, am I right? Rebellion is for teenagers who are spoiled and have an overinflated sense of entitlement. Rebellious kids are a problem, one that parents so desprately want to fix. And so many times, the 'fix', is church. But you see there's a problem with that.
Because the church is a rebellious movement.
The church as it was designed is a planet-wide spiritual rebellion against the world. We are meant to stand apart from this crowded world of consumer culture, blatant sin, and self indulging attitudes. We are meant to stand out for the cause of Christ, for the salvation of souls, for the spread of the news that is beyond all earthly comprehension.
But do we?
Is the church really a rebellion today? It certainly started out as one. In the earliest parts of church history it was a small group (although growing quickly) that was openly opposing the teachings of the Roman world and Jewish culture. They were teaching in the streets at being killed and imprisoned for it. They were the epitome of rebellion! Then when the church grew stagnant, there was another rebellion, the Reformation. Once again, radical rebellious Christians were prosecuted for not laying down and letting the wrongs of the world roll over them.
Look at the world today. Look at the church. I think that a few rebellious teenagers may be exactly what we need.
