Living In The 3rd Culture: 2021

We use the word comfort and comfortable often in our lives. When someone is discouraged or going through a difficult time, we try to comfort or cheer them up and give encouragement and hope. In times of sadness and loss we console to ease the grief and sadness. The goal is to give of ourselves to relief or encourage someone else. Our use of the word comfortable can be used in similar ways when we may ask a guest if a chair or bed is comfortable. In each of these uses the focus is on our looking out for the welfare of others.

At the same time, we must admit that we use most of our energy pursuing and protecting the “comforts of life.” We have come to believe that we deserve a comfortable and healthy life, with a comfortable income, in a comfortable house, in a comfortable neighborhood, driving a comfortable car, watching football in a comfortable chair, and sleeping in a comfortable bed. Now do not misunderstand me! Having any or all of this is not wrong and in fact they should be seen as given to us by God (unless you stole the comfortable car). God often blesses materially and physically and invites us to enjoy our lives here on earth. The problem comes when we our joy in life in based on our comfort level rather than our identity in Christ.

The Heidelberg Catechism addresses this in its first question when it asks, “What is thy only comfort in life and death?” It is easy for us to quickly reply with “Jesus” but I encourage you to do some self-reflection on what your “only comfort in life” truly is. Find a quiet place to pray and ask yourself what would happen if you lost all or most of your “comforts of life?” Would you be okay with that? Could you sing, and truly mean it, the words “you can have all this world, just give me Jesus?” Most, if not all, find it hard to let go of the “comforts of life” because they are our security; we feel like must have them to survive. But do we? Let’s go back to the Heidelberg Catechism and look it’s answer to the question.

“Answer: That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ; who, with his precious blood, has fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him.”

These words are not only a powerful encouragement to us, a comfort, but should also be used as a regular prayer where we ask our gracious Heavenly Father to free us from our love of earthly comfort and help us actually believe this to be true! Can you imagine the contentment, joy, and peace we would have? We will get there eventually but in the meantime time let’s make it our goal to have a “take it or leave it’ mentality with the comforts of life and grasp tightly the only true comfort in this life and in death.

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….

Comfort or Comfortable?