Christianity is rarely a simple, easy way of life. It really wasn’t designed to be easy but most of us long for it nonetheless.

Being a Christian in America in the 21st century is becoming increasingly complex. A hundred years ago, the primary battlefronts of faith were prohibition and poverty. Life was simpler, but that doesn’t mean it was easier.

Today our lives are physically easier due to modern technology, but the emotional and spiritual pressures have become much more pronounced.

The increased complexity of life has also caused many new battlegrounds that our grandparents would have never thought about. Just today I’ve read news articles about genetic engineering, casino gambling, intelligent design and international AIDS work. Christians today must speak intelligently into these, and many other challenging issues of modern life that were mostly unknown a century ago.

Meanwhile, the breakdown of the nuclear family has increased the demands upon individuals, churches, schools and government to step in and help remedy the growing myriad of social problems. Many Christians are now raising grandchildren because the
parents simply won’t do it. Churches and schools are scrambling to meet the needs of children who are growing up without parental love or guidance.

Add to that the daily barrage of messages from political groups, benevolent organizations, religious organizations, lobbying groups, citizen groups, and community activists. We sift through piles of junk mail, pornographic emails (unsolicited), telemarketing calls and cable news anchors yelling about Paris Hilton’s jail sentence.

In the midst of all of this, we are expected to be godly, calm, peaceful, wise and holy.
Consider this; we Christians cannot possibly know the answers to every complex issue. But we do know THE ANSWER to every complex issue. That answer is the same answer Christianity has been offering to the world for 2000 years. Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, came to the world with a message. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).”

Dig past the rhetoric of every complex political and social issue and you will find sin at its root. For example, the root of the debate over sex selective abortions is the pride and selfishness of prospective parents. The root of the debate over gay marriage is lust. The root of the problem of gambling is greed.

So no matter how complex our world becomes, the root cause will always be man’s sin nature and the answer to those problems will always be found in repentance and forgiveness.
One of my friends led a young man to receive Christ as his savior yesterday. This young man grew up in Oklahoma and is now on his way to boot camp in the military. My friend asked him to read a few chapters in the Bible and then told him how he could be forgiven of his sins and find fulfillment through faith in Christ. The young man had never heard this before. He was so excited he couldn’t wait to tell his family about what had just happened to him!

It is likely that the complexity of American life will continue to increase. But the simplicity of faith in Christ will remain.