There’s no doubt that we live in an era that has witnessed a resurgence of activism. We’ve seen a plethora of protests in recent years. Extinction Rebellion, Black Lives Matter and #MeToo to name a few prominent examples. Dreaming of a better collective future and working to make progress in certain areas has become well and truly part of the zeitgeist. ‘Making a difference' on an individual level has become an essential moral obligation.
The church, I suspect, looks very similar to society at large. We live in an era of activist Christianity. If you grew up in the UK as a Christian in the 1990s or early 2000s, you probably have sung, “History Maker” by Delirious, with its infamous line, “I'm gonna be a history maker in this land”. It became the mantra of a generation. Many of us came to Christian maturity with the expectation of changing the world. We dreamt (and dream of!) of conversions by the hundred, signs and wonders in abundance, the explosive growth of the church, and indeed, revival.
Some of us (myself included) will particularly resonate with this because of our wiring. We dream of doing great things for God, of changing the world, of righting wrongs and seeing lives changed. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with dreaming of being used by God! It’s an essential part of a life lived for his glory. When Jen and I are thinking about our vocation, one of the central questions that we ask ourselves, is what is our best contribution to the great commission? How can we best serve Christ’s calling to make disciples and spread his Kingdom throughout the earth? This, I think, is an important question for all of us to consider, regardless of our vocational focus.
However, I wonder whether there is a danger here. If we focus excessively on what God can do through us, we might miss another important emphasis, of what God wants to do in us. For those of us more drawn towards activism in the name of Christ, we must remember God’s overarching purpose to form Christlikeness in us, quite apart from any impact that we might hope to have on the world. When churches or Christians focus excessively on impact and mission, they risk ignoring the vital work that God wants to do in each of us, on our character and personal holiness.
Some of us dreamt of changing the world. And then we were frustrated when we didn’t see the impact that we’d hoped for. And all the while, we ignored the vital work that God was doing in us, through all the unexpected and unwanted challenges of our lives. The baby which won’t stop crying. Or the sickness that came about suddenly. Or the failed career dreams. It’s these experiences of trial, unwanted though they are, that God uses to conform us into the image of his Son.
Don’t stop dreaming of and praying for revival. Don’t stop seeking to be used by God in all sorts of ways. But don’t let that distract you from the essential work that God wants to do in each of us.