The Hope of Redeemed Culture(s)
The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Revelation 21:23-26
Try to imagine living in a world in which people, their art and the important cultural contributions/markers of every nation that has ever existed are brought together and celebrated with unity and joy, all to the glory of God. Yeah, just try to wrap your head and heart around THAT one!
John’s vision of the New Jerusalem includes the fulfillment of prophecies spoken by the prophet Isaiah (chapter 60) which anticipate the gathering and redeeming of “splendor of the kings” and the “glory and honor of the nations.” These words of hope take us back to the Garden of Eden where God first gave Adam and Eve (and their posterity), what we call the creation, or “cultural” mandate-that is, the charge to take the raw stuff of creation and make “culture” from it. “Culture,” in essence, is how a people group organizes and celebrates itself for life in the world-how they dress, how they prepare food, their music and art, their architecture, their mores, traditions, etc.
Our hope-filled, joy-producing take-a-way from this aspect of John’s vision of life in the new heaven and new earth is this: We will forever enjoy aspects of the cultures of every people group represented in the family of God, AND, we will make new culture forever as the pan-national family of God inhabiting the new heaven and new earth! Quite honestly, this blows all the circuits on my imagination board! It just seems too good, too good to be true!
But God was a Creator before he revealed himself as a Redeemer. God cares about every aspect of our lives, every sphere of our existence. To be “spiritual” is not just a matter of having inspirational “quiet times” or religious experiences, so we can get on with the rest of our “secular” responsibilities in life with a good attitude. Hold on tightly to this line from one of our earlier gospel-sanity devos: Jesus is making all things new, not making all new things.
The cultural mandate continues because the gospel is true! Jesus really is this much of a Lord and lover. We are not escapists from the community and our culture, but those called to the redeeming of culture. I am out of time and space, but two good reads I would recommend if this topic either confuses or enthralls you: When the Kings Come Marching In, by Richard Mouw, and Culture Making, by Andy Crouch.