Conformed To Christ’S Death
CONFORMED TO CHRIST'S DEATH
It is easy to see that material things may be substitutes for Christ in our lives or may frustrate us from enjoying Him. But it is not easy to see that things that are not material, such as religion, philosophy, and culture, may also be substitutes for Christ. Throughout the years, I have met a good number of spiritual people of different na tionalities who were genuine seekers of the Lord. However, although they were progressing spiri tually to a certain extent, hardly any lived outside their national culture.
No matter how earnestly most believers may seek the Lord, they are still under the influence of their national characteristics. In their daily living, they are influenced more by their culture than by Christ. When Paul said that he counted all things loss (Phil. 3:7-8), he meant not only material things, but also things such as religion, philosophy, and culture. We may be willing to count material things as loss for Christ, but we may not count as loss our culture or our na tional characteristics. But religion, culture, and