Living In The 3rd Culture: “But God . . . by Grace”

^“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” – (Ephesians 2:10 - ESV)

Long before the onslaught of DIY shows I have had an interest in restoration projects. Whether it be a piece of furniture, an old clock, a car, or a house I find it fascinating to see a skilled craftsmen take what is old and damaged and restore it back to its original beauty. One antique item that I have is a pulpit my grandfather found in a central Illinois barn in the 1930s. It was old then so I have no idea when it was made or what it was made for. The pulpit stayed in my grandmother’s cellar for 50 years until I drug it out. Unfortunately by then it had been damaged by regular flooding in that old cellar resulting in the bottom six inches incurring water damage. Due to the absence of proper tools, I simply cut the damaged wood off and refinished the rest of the pulpit . . . six inches shorter than it should have been.

In Ephesians 2:1-10 Paul describes a beautiful restoration that is taking place as God restores a dead, enslaved, and condemned people who by grace He is making into His glorious and holy temple (2:21) or as verse 10 says “his workmanship.” Humanity is a mess! In fact, Paul describes them as dead, enslaved and condemned! First, they are dead due to spiritual depravity as well as active and continual trespassing of God’s law. Second, they are enslaved to the “prince of the power of the air,” held as captives to the value system or “course” of this world, and living in “the passions of the flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and mind” (v.3). As a result humanity is condemned to hell, or as Paul puts it “children of wrath” (v.3)

To most this would be a building not worth trying to save. “But God” did not see it that way and rather than leave us dead, enslaved and condemned, chose to graciously save His children through giving the gift of faith. It is all God from start to finish! He “made us alive with Christ” (v. 5), and “raised us up” and seated [us] with Him in the heavenly places” (v.6). And God did this “being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us” (v.4), and by His “kindness towards us in Christ Jesus” (v.7), and all of this is through His “grace” (vv. 5, 8) – to “show the immeasurable riches of his grace” (v.7). When all was lost, God loved us, and showed His kindness to us by mercifully saving us by grace.

Let’s go back to the restoration of antiques. . . Looking across my office to the pulpit, I realize that the moment I refinished it, I destroyed much of its value. If you have spent any time watching PBS’s “Antique Road Show” you have learned that even cleaning an antique can destroy its value. Recently a collection of rare old automobiles was discovered in France. Evidently, the collector had at one point wanted to put them in a museum, but for economic reasons was not able to do so, and as a result they remained in storage for decades. Upon his death the recipients of his estate had them put up for auction. Many of these rare vehicles had rusted and were in poor condition. The part that I found fascinating was that a leading collector said that many of the cars should not be restored, but left in the condition they were found.

I suppose leaving a car in disrepair and decay is fine, however God is not content with His children staying in that condition. God’s children are His workmanship created in Christ to show the world His gospel of grace. When people see what God is doing in our lives, they give Him glory. Years ago a family friend discovered an old car buried beneath dirt and brush behind another central Illinois barn. The car that had been left to rot was a rare 1927 Duesenberg Model J. Our friend took that car and lovingly restored it to like new condition. Once restored it was worth several hundred thousand dollars, yet he chose not to leave it as a museum piece. He chose to drive it using weddings and for letting kids (like me) ride in the tumble seat.

Please know that God is not restoring us as trophies for a museum of faith, but to show immeasurable riches of his grace” in the places where live, work and play. Like the antique car and pulpit we too are being restored by God so those around us will stop and notice the skill of the Master as He slowly restores us into the image of Jesus Christ. God is at work! King Jesus is reigning and the restoration of all things is in motion and has been taking place in the lives of those whom God touches by His grace.

“But God . . . by Grace”

Third Culture Defined

The term “Third Culture” has been used in various ways. One “Third Culture” group “consists of those scientists and other thinkers in the empirical world who, through their work and expository writing, are taking the place of the traditional intellectuals in rendering visible the deeper meanings of our lives, redefining who and what we are.”Another common use of “Third Culture” in fact describes my personal experience. The term was first coined by sociologist Ruth Hill Useem, professor emeritus of sociology and education at Michigan State University. She used the term to describe children growing up outside their citizenship countries because of a parent’s work abroad. A “TCK or Third Culture Kid has since been defined as, “someone who as a child has spent a significant period of time in one or more culture(s) other than his or her own, thus integrating elements of those cultures and their own birth culture, into a third culture" Though I am a TCK, it is my desire to use the term in referring to the people who make up the true Christian Church (Theologically defined as the “Invisible Church”). In other words, the Church is a Third Culture. Scripture teaches us that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law and the punishment of Hell, and through faith in Him we become citizens of His Kingdom, receiving not only the full benefits of citizenship in His Kingdom, but indeed the right to become sons and daughters of God. The moment, we step into this Kingdome we experience a new and different culture. We are no longer in the kingdom of darkness, but now live in the kingdom of light and that changes everything! At the same time we never went anywhere physically as we continue to work, live, and play with the same people as before, we see the world differently, we no longer truly fit – we are “in the world, but not of it” -- we have a new culture. For most of us this life changing experience occurs within our birth culture and our Christian experience is saturated by those influences. For those who grew up in non-Hispanic White North America, Christianity is uniquely different than those who grew up in an African American context. Our birth culture effects how we live out our faith in the Kingdom of Christ. Yet the Kingdom of Christ requires one more cultural shift and that is away from birth culture and into a culture made up of people of every ethnic and cultural group that has ever existed on the face of the earth. This Kingdom is no more North American than it is Tanzanian or Tibetan. It is a unique or shall we say a “Third Culture” that integrates elements of all cultures into one new and better one, where there is no Jew or Greek, slave nor free, male nor female“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Gal 3:26-298). In fact Revelation 7:9-10 gives us a description what this will look like one day:“After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." A Third Culture Perspective is one that understands and appreciates that God gathers people from every ethnic and cultural group and brings them into the new culture of His Son Jesus Christ. It is a perspective where birth cultures are appreciated and respected as coming from God, but none are superior. It seeks to have a deeper understanding of the Gospel, pays attention to culture, our own as well as others, and then attempts to bring them together. It is a perspective that “seeks first His Kingdom and His Righteousness” and lovingly and passionately enjoys and glorifies God in all we do. It is a perspective that welcomes immigrants….

“But God . . . by Grace”

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