You Were Made for This Moment: A 5-Day JourneySýnishorn

COZY IN THE CULTURE

God has given each of us a role to play in this grand drama we call life. There will be times when he will call on us to step onto the stage and perform the part he has created for us to play. We have to make sure that we are ready for those “role calls” when they come our way.

In the Bible, we read about a beautiful young Jewish woman named Esther who was ready when it was her time to step into God’s spotlight. She and her cousin Mordecai were true heroes for the Jewish people. But as their story opens, the two seem anything but heroic. 

Esther and Mordecai were descendants of the people who had been conquered by the Babylonians and taken into exile. As members of the Jewish race—God’s holy people—they were called to live by his standards rather than by the standards of the world. The Jewish people were to serve as a light to the world and demonstrate God’s righteousness.

But over several generations, the Jews in Babylon had begun to assimilate into the culture around them, swapping their cultural identity for personal security in this foreign land. As a case in point, the name Esther was based on the name of the Persian goddess Ishtar. Her Hebrew name was Hadassah, based on the word for myrtle, which implies righteous. 

So it was that when Esther was pulled into the Babylonian king Xerxes’ search for a new queen, Esther’s and Mordecai’s response was to disguise their Jewish identity. It’s a temptation we likewise face today. The incontestable value of today’s culture is tolerance of all beliefs—except an exclusive belief like Christianity’s that adheres to one Savior and one solution to the human problem. But as we read in 1 Peter 2:11, our eternal citizenship is not the one printed on our passports. We heed a higher law and follow a greater good. This is not the time for us to blend in and assimilate but rather to heed God’s call and follow his standard of holiness. 

But in this, we can take encouragement from Esther. As her story unfolds, we will find that even though she initially felt the pressure to fit in, she eventually realized that she had to stand out. She stood up for her people and followed God’s greater good for her life. 

Unlike other stories we read in the Bible, in the book of Esther we find no mention of God doing great miracles like parting the Red Sea for his people, or bringing down the walls of an enemy city, or raising up warriors to deliver them from their foes. In fact, the book of Esther never even mentions God’s name. Prayer is implied, but not described. Instead, we find God methodically working behind the scenes, orchestrating all the events according to his will.

The book of Esther depicts the same type of situation that many Christians face today. For the Jewish people, Jerusalem seemed so far away and Persia seemed so near and inviting. God seemed far away—almost as if he had abandoned them—and it was easy to seek security in the empire. But Persia was lying to them, just as our culture lies to us. It was seeking to lure God’s people into a worldly lifestyle that would only leave them feeling wounded, weary, and further away from God. 

As a member of God’s church, you are a caretaker of Jesus’ message. You have the hope this world needs. So don’t seek to conform to the world but rather to transform the world for Christ. It is time to stand out and step up. You were made for this moment!

Respond  

• What role do you feel God is asking you to play in the world around you?  
• What choices have you made when faced with opportunities to compromise?   
• What changes do you need to make to faithfully represent Jesus’ message?