I have long thought that nothing in culture is so good that it can be accepted “as is.” Also, nothing in culture is so twisted and evil that it is beyond the scope of redemption. God can take anything and turn it around to bring glory to Him. God can take anybody and raise them up to glory and honor. Each one of us is the perfect example.
However, while I believe that everything is redeemable, not every aspect about everything can be redeemed.
Last week, I read the following comment by N. T. Wright who says it much better than I: “Christians are neither chameleons, changing color to suit their surroundings, nor rhinoceroses, ready to charge at anything in sight. There is no straightforward transference between any item of ordinary culture and the gospel since all has been distorted by evil; but likewise there is nothing so twisted that it cannot be redeemed, and nothing evil in itself.” (p 7).
So look around. Who have you given up on? Who is “beyond reach”? Who is “too far gone”? What places, countries, customs, events, holidays, and festivals have you written off as “of the devil”? Take those, and begin to think and pray about how God might want to redeem them for Himself.
