Redeeming the Culture

        Somewhere in my mind I have a list of books that I want to finish someday when the endless hours of forced reading, cramming, and writing are over and done. One of the titles on the list is a book by Mark Noll called The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind. The little bit of this book that I did get a chance to read inspired me to really ask myself, "How can I redeem the culture for Christ with my talents? What can I do to honor God with my mind and talents?"
      The first answer of how to go about that is through music. For as long as I can remember I have loved music. I love practicing it, performing it, listening to it; I love everything about it. I believe I have the talents required to become a good performer and also in time a great teacher. What will set me apart from my secular peers is why I play. I don't play just because I love it. I play because I love God, and I believe playing is one way that I can praise Him. Because it is an act of love, as all service and work should be, I believe I will go far.
      Something else I love are good stories. My hope is that by telling good stories, true or fictional, I will be inspiring others to think as Noll's book inspired me to think. My own experience has been that while many theology and philosophy books are beneficial, they can also be hard to finish.  I want to write stories that include good thelogy and ask hard questions, yet at the same time show what it looks like in the real everyday life for real everyday people. This will require creativity, a lot of learning, and also a strong belief system, all of which I have and am willing to use.
       Someday, in that shrouded place called the future, I will be married and have children. I envision myself teaching them what my parents taught me: to love God above else, to pursue learning, to never trust the media, and to marvel at the beauty in nature. If I can accomplish this, if I can teach them to reflect and ask questions, if I can spark in them a desire for wisdom and knowledge, then part of my job will be completed. For if I can help the next generation to become redeemers of the culture, then I will be a cultural redeemer too.

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