Organic Christianity

We are now living in a society that is putting a growing interest in "organic living".  We try to eat organic foods, apply organic beauty products, and clean with organic cleaning products. Why? Because we are becoming more aware of how dangerous and bad all the artificial flavoring, scents, and chemicals are for us. We want to live long and healthy lives.  We want real, untainted, ingredients in our foods, hair and makeup supplies, and household items. It seems like everyday I am coming across a new article warning us about companies that are diluting or altogether, replacing real ingredients in foods and products we had previously assumed to be safe and healthy. So what do we do about it? We spend a little extra time learning about where our food and products come from and what's in it. We are willing to pay the cost (often considerably more expensive than non-organic) when we know that what we are getting is good and real.  We change our habits and begin to deny ourselves the sugars and chemicals that are so addicting, because we know that the temporary gratification is not worth it in the end.

Yet, sadly, this great movement of organic and real living doesn't seem to be active in the Christian church and spiritual lives. Like so many of these large companies that are creating harmful products with the intent of making more to sell to more, many churches are doing the same. We are diluting the truth of Scripture to reach more.  Not only are we diluting the "ingredients" (truth) of Christianity, we are adding harmful ingredients to make it more enticing. The church is "evolving" in an effort to stay relevant in today's culture. But that is exactly where we are going wrong. To say that the church needs to change in order to keep up with society is (to be completely honest) to say that God needs to change to keep up with us. How incredibly arrogant!

These diluted truths and outright lies that we are spreading in order to get our numbers up in church attendance needs to stop. In our attempt to stay relevant and reach more "consumers", we are harming people, just like those "big, bad companies". It's time we move towards Organic Christianity. The dictionary defines the word "organic" as: of, relating to, or derived from living matter. The very core belief of Christianity is that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and His power is in us. Meaning that Christ and His Spirit are a living matter. That is to say, we as CHRISTians are "of, relating to, and derived from [Christ]".

Organic Christianity, like living organically takes new habits and work. You have to throw out the bad and discover what is good. This takes time and perseverance to read the Scriptures, and to read the "ingredients labels" in life to know that what you are putting into your mind and spirit is good and real. You have to deny yourself and your cravings for those sugars and harmful chemicals that are put in foods to make you addicted and crave them. It takes discipline to educate yourself, carefully reading all labels in order to make the right choice.

Organic Christianity takes ACTION. When you learn about products that are bad for you, you get rid of them, make sure you never use them again, and you share your new knowledge with others to make sure that they know too.  Believing that processed foods are bad for you and that organic products are good is not enough. The belief itself is not a ticket to a healthier life. You have to DO something about it to live organically. The same is true of Christianity. To believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the Earth is not enough. Belief alone is not a free ticket into heaven.  You have to do something about it. If you TRULY believe (not just intellectually, but with your whole being), you will WANT to be moved into action. To believe in Christ and to really accept Him as your Lord and Savior is to believe in all that He says. And Christ has called us to action.

Christianity today has become diluted and distorted so as not to inconvenience us. Here's the truth, Christianity is not easy. It was never meant to be easy. In fact Christ tells us in Matthew 7:13-14 to "enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that lead to life, and only a few find it." To live an organic Christian life means to deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow Christ. (Mark 8:34-35) Like living organically, it isn't going to be easy. You have to watch out for the false prophets who will dilute or distort the truth (Matthew 7:15-20). Like you watch out for some products who claim to be organic, but aren't truly 100%, by reading the labels and researching the ingredients; you have to carefully examine the words people are saying and compare them to Scripture and what you know to be true.

Organic Christianity comes at a cost. And that cost isn't small. It will cost you your life. To be an organic Christian is to die to yourself so that you may live in Christ and appear with Him in glory (Colossians 3:3-10). When you die to yourself, you will be renewed in the image of God. As such you ought to look different from your old self. Like changing to an organic lifestyle makes you look different by losing weight, having brighter skin, stronger hair, improved mood, and more mental clarity; Organic Christianity should make you look different (healthier).

You aren't going to be liked by everyone. Some will likely call you "extreme" and you may find yourself prosecuted when you refuse to stand down from the truth and insist on sharing it with others. Being an Organic Christian isn't going to be comfortable, but we know that living for this world only provides temporary gratification and isn't worth the cost in the end (James 4:4-5). If you truly believe that Christ is the Lord and you know that to do His will is what is good for you (like you believe that organic living is good for you), it is only natural that you would go all in. To really, truly, live organically, you have to go all in and do it right. To be 100% organic, you can't live all organically except for your secret stash of Twinkies.  The same is true of Organic Christianity. You can't be an Organic Christian while still dabbling in sin. You have to give it all up and deny those desires. It's not easy, but neither are we doing it alone. That's the great part of it. To be organic (of, relating to, and derived from Christ) means that we have His spirit and power in us. We are called to action, but we aren't called to it alone (Ezekiel 36: 26-27)! Amen!

So, I pray that God moves in your hearts, as He has in mine, and leads you to a spiritually powerful, joyful, and healthy life of Organic Christianity!


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