The Tokyo Health Spa, A Place to Grow, and the God who Sees, Part 3

The story of The Tokyo Health Spa offers a fresh case study on balancing Scripture's call to be socially engaged within our world.  

As it is with the entire counsel of God's Word that the faithful wrestle, how are we to balance both the Great Commission and the Adamic Commission as concurrent biblical commands?  How do these teachings look in the flesh?  How do they actually govern real life passions and pursuits?   

As harmony is the aim, what might imbalance look like if you or I were to operate solely out of either commission?  How would our respective starting points shape how we actually engage the health spa? 
  
In accordance to the Great Commission individuals within the spa need Jesus.  If management were to receive Christ as Lord, accordingly the spa would undergo reform.  Under this charge personal evangelism becomes the adopted strategy.  And on occasion emboldened individuals visited the spa, management was invited to church, and attempts were made to share Jesus.  Other than these rare exchanges the church and the spa co-existed with little to no interaction.  The operative thought, "Don't bother me, I won't bother you."

In accordance to the Adamic Commission, The Tokyo Health Spa devalues the Divine imageness of man and it proliferates unrighteousness within the community.  Under this charge, the church should use every means afforded in seeking the spa’s demise.  We pray and fast against the practices and the property.  We guide the faithful to beseech the God who sees, seeking for both divine intervention and insight into where He may lead the church into physical activity.

Do we need balance?  Yes.  Do those who run the spa need Jesus?  Absolutely.  But somehow I can’t imagine Jesus sharing The Four Spiritual Laws as he whipped the moneychangers in the temple – let them hear of Divine Love while incarcerated.  

Admittedly these two scenarios represent extremes so as to establish a point; our strategies for cultural engagement will always be shaped by our theology.  How we interact with the various issues facing our world will always be informed and motivated by our ability to balance these commissions.

Regarding the two commissions, do you sense balance in your own life?

As pragmatism, denominational norms, and theological negligence often make answering this type of question tricky, I’d suggest you consider the following contrasts.  Each side represents necessary elements of biblical Christianity, yet if we significantly favor one side imbalance is likely.  

•        Gospel as proclamation...gospel as demonstration
•        Calling for salvation...calling for social action
•        Sending money to local agencies...spending time at the local agency
•        Feeling angry over societal sins...feeling broken over societal sins
•        Strong pulpit ministry...strong mercy ministry
•        Sensing hopeless digression of society...sensing hopeful manifestation of His kingdom 
•        Jesus as Redeemer...Jesus as Reformer
•        Exegeting the text...exegeting the community
•        Prayer as tool for consolation...prayer as weapon to wield

For the faithful the journey isn’t merely one of understanding but action.  As we seek to strike balance, explore how these truths look in the context of your church and community.  Don't shrink back in despair waiting for Christ's return.   Don't allow a spirit of either defeatism or escapism dampen our resolve to pursue the faithful life.  As Robert Lewis writes, 

..."What difference can I make?  I have very little that I can offer."  While not stated openly, these questions are deeply felt.  In my mind, much of our present evangelical apathy is tied to a philosophical surrender of the hope for doing any good.  Since the world is hopelessly lost and, for many, the Rapture is our escape, it becomes much easier to critique the world for its evil than to work in it for its good.  (The Church of Irresistible Influence, 106)  

Our gardens look different.  Our areas of calling and the contexts in which these play out are diverse.  As we learn from our past The Tokyo Health Spa is a teachable moment.  Yet wherever you plow and toil, there are parasites.  There are entities, philosophies, and patterns of behavior that not only conflict with the revealed Word but strip image-bearers of their dignity and stymie righteous ethics.

Let us be found engaging our culture in both word and deed.  And as we seek to come under the authority of the entire Book may the spirit of Matthew 13:52 undergird our labor, “Therefore every scribe that has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” 

Grace and Peace.