The Need for Spiritual Revolution

On April 19th, 1775 colonists in the Massachusetts cities of Lexington and Concord engaged British soldiers in what would be the opening hours of the American Revolution. This war would lead to the independence of the colonies and created a new country that chose to revolutionize its method of governing. By definition, a revolution is a "fundamental change" and while the changes in late 18th century America were important, the fundamental changes of a spiritual nature are much more important. There are three, special, important subjects which need this type of revolution.

First, there needs to a spiritual revolution in many families. The priorities of worldly families differs greatly from those of families whose members are Christians. Many of us have seen the ease with which our neighbors and friends families live. They often have more time, more money, more stuff, and seem to just have things going for them. Because we don't have their flexibility, their wealth, or their possessions, we sometimes find ourselves doing what we can to be like them.

Instead, there needs to be a spiritual revolution in terms of the way family success is defined. The most important thing for families is not how many cars they have, how many square feet they have to live in, or how debt-free one family is as compared to others. The needed, fundament change must lead us back to an appreciation of God's priorities. Fathers and mothers must work to lead rightly and children must be taught not just about obedience, but also about God's will and its place in our lives (Ephesians 6:1-4). With this revolution, not only will families be more pleasing to God but our lives on earth will be better because of it.

Second, there needs to be a spiritual revolution for churches. Too many churches have lost sight of their God ordained responsibilities. Paul explained to Timothy that the church was to be the pillar and ground of the truth (I Timothy 3:15). Many churches in our communities provide child-care during the day, sponsor schools with their funds, and host carnivals or "family fun nights." There are no passages found in the scriptures which authorize such activities.

Instead, the scriptures talk about the church being concerned with spiritual things (Romans 14:17). A great and needed revolution is one where churches which have lost their way and are mixed up in the affairs of the world fundamentally change to be the church we read about in the New Testament. As members of the Lord's church, it is important for us to always be mindful of our need to remain faithful as members of Christ's church.

Finally, each of us, as individual servants of God, need to have a spiritual revolution. No matter who we are or where we are in our spiritual development, all of us have room to grow and become more pleasing to God. In fact, one of the purposes of coming together on the first day of the week is to, while partaking of the Lord's Supper, examine ourselves to see whether or not we are dutifully serving God (I Corinthians 11:28).

When, through self-examination, we find our spiritual lives needing alterations, we must work to fundamentally change ourselves. And no matter how old we are or how long we've been in service to God, there will always be opportunities for us to consider ourselves and our lives and find things that need revolutionary change.