Living as a “Colony of Heaven” in the World – April 23, 2022
Our school uses a leadership development curriculum for our advisory program called Habitudes. The program is produced by Growing Leaders and it utilizes images to teach important leadership lessons. One of the lessons that all of our students have been taught is titled, “Thermostat and Thermometer: Leaders Set the Tone for Those Around Them”. The core lesson is to be a thermostat rather than a thermometer. Thermometers simply reflect the temperature, while thermostats dictate the temperature of the room. Leaders have a set of core values and live by them, striving to influence others, rather than allowing others to negatively influence them. This has been one of the most powerful and easily generalized lessons we have covered. Not long after I first used this lesson with my advisory, I realized that someone else utilized these same images long before they were adopted by the Habitudes curriculum.
On April 16, 1963, a little over 59 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. penned the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”. The letter was addressed to his fellow clergymen and it is chock-full of content worthy of reflection and discussion. If you have never read the letter in entirety, I encourage you to do so. Today, I’d like to draw our collective attention to one particular section of the letter as it utilizes the above imagery, and the powerful language provides a clear challenge for all of us to live in an manner that is antithetical to the ways of the world.
“There was a time when the church was very powerful–in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being “disturbers of the peace” and “outside agitators.”‘ But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were “a colony of heaven,” called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be “astronomically intimidated.” By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests. Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church’s silent–and often even vocal–sanction of things as they are.
But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today’s church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust.“
I don’t know about you, but that is a complete punch in the gut for me. Obviously King’s criticism and call at the time was the need for the church to respond to the gross injustices being addressed in the civil rights movement. To that point, many within the church had completely ignored the blatant racism, injustice, and inequality of the day, in an effort to maintain the “status quo”. However, King’s message appears almost prophetic and equally applicable for so many of the issues of today, nearly 60 years later. In response, I have to ask myself some hard questions:
Am I acting as a thermostat or a thermometer?
Am I working to transform the mores of society, or merely accepting them?
Am I obeying God rather than man?
Am I living as a citizen of heaven, or a citizen of this world?
Am I working with the church to project a strong voice of grace and truth in the community?
Am I committed to do the right thing no matter the personal cost?
Am I sacrificing myself for the advancement of others and the Kingdom of God?
Where do I see those in need of help, or injustices being done, and do I take action?
Am I defending the last, the lost, and the least of these?
I was recently reading through Colossians and I came across these verses in chapter 3 that gave me some tangible insights into how to answer the above in a manner that ensures that I am living as a thermostat, not a thermometer.
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. 12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful...17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.“
It is clear that we are to live differently. Our citizenship is in heaven and we are called to live in a manner consistent with our identity, purpose, and calling. Scripture gives clear reminders that we must not conform to the pattern of this world (Romans 12:2), and cultivating a friendship with the world creates enmity against God (James 4:4). As I walk this journey, I am more and more convinced that I need the accountability of fellow aliens to stay on the narrow path and eschew the ways of the world. In so doing, collectively we can operate as thermostats or “a colony of heaven”, to transform the culture around us, pointing people to Jesus.
What about you? As a leader, educator, professional, coach, student, parent, or Christ-follower, where do you have an opportunity to change the culture by leading from your convictions as a thermostat, rather than a thermometer? It didn’t take me long to identify several areas of opportunity. Let’s join together and change the temperature in the room.
In Him,
Andy
An Alien Journey 