Stay In Your Lane?

“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through Him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see – such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through Him and for Him.” (Colossians 1:15-16 NLT)

Have you ever been cruising along, minding your own business, chillin’ to the tunes on your radio, when suddenly you notice the guy in the car next to you is moving into your lane? Maybe they’re texting, talking on the phone, or just not paying attention, but almost instinctively you hear yourself saying (shouting?) “Hey, buddy, stay in your own lane!”

Unfortunately, that’s a phenomenon that happens on more occasions and in more areas of our lives than we like to think. You walk into the kitchen while your husband or wife (whoever assumes that role in your family) is fixing dinner and you offer to help. Maybe not always, but if it’s something “special” or out of the ordinary, you might hear something like – “Just stick to what you know!” with the clear implication, “This is MY area of expertise, not yours!”

It happens in politics, education, health care, marriage/family, sports, news reporting, even in the Church. There are “specialists” in most every area of life who are seeking to “pigeon hole” our lives, demanding that we “stay in our lane,” with the clear implication: “This is OUR area of expertise. We know better how to make decisions here, so stay out of our way, we’ll handle this!”  

John Stonestreet wrote in a recent Breakpoint: “… the biggest issue with this ‘stay in your lane’ approach to the Church is the question of what exactly the Christian lane is in the first place. Dutch statesman and theologian Abraham Kuyper put it best: ‘There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!’ In other words, because the head of the Church is Christ, who is Lord of everything, Christ’s lane is the entire cosmos.”

So, where does that put us, as Christ followers? What is “our lane” exactly? Should we not engage in politics? Education? Health Care? And all the other areas of life that are being distorted and violated by those who don’t have a conscience? That’s certainly what Satan would be pleased for us to do.

But Scriptures like those above state clearly Christ’s lordship over literally EVERYTHING! As Stonestreet writes: “This means it all belongs to Him. Christian musicians should make music as if God is sitting next to them on the piano bench. Christian bakers should make sourdough as if God is going to have a slice. Christian citizens of a democratic republic should strive, with humility and wisdom, to influence and govern and live together as if Christ is over it all, because He is. We contend for the well-being of our neighbors, even when it’s unpopular. The question isn’t whether Christians should engage politically, but whether we will do it well. We don’t live in a theocracy, and pastors aren’t policy makers. But Christians are to apply God’s truth about everything to everything.”

So, what IS our “lane?” Essentially, it’s anything the Lord equips and instructs us to do. Our role is to do good works that God prepared in advance for us to do, regardless of what area of life it may include, because the reality is, Christ’s Lordship, thus, our domain of Christian service, encompasses every conceivable aspect of human existence.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊