Living according to our faith is much more than just a little thing done inside the four walls of a church a couple or three times a week. Living out our faith in everyday life means we take seriously what the Holy Scriptures teach, and we allow the government of God—the dominion of our King and Savior—to guide and influence every aspect of our lives. This includes much more than just church attendance. It means we seek biblical guidance on every aspect of life, including how we talk, dress, eat, relate, work, and how we raise and educate our families. It means we are called to be salt and light in a world that has degraded, maligned, and misdefined such crucial institutions as marriage and gender, and which has assaulted and blurred important boundaries, such as gender distinction. Thus, we may face, and have often faced, challenges because we are called to be different. When all is gone wrong in the world, those who insist on biblical norms as needing to be “normal” will actually be seen as abnormal! The lost souls of this world can become pretty harsh in mockery, pressure, manipulation, and persecution whenever they encounter someone who, by reasons of biblically-based, ethical standards of righteousness, and separation from the world, stands out, and by standing out, thus causing onlooker to give unwanted attention to the errors of their ways. The righteous life unavoidably called attention to all those who capitulate and follow the wayward (“confused”) culture around us.

In rising to meet all our challenges, there are some sound practices that provide strength and help. The longstanding staples of Christian living—regular church attendance, daily Bible reading, daily prayer, regular fasting, etc.—are invaluable in both discerning the challenges and navigating them skillfully. Also, Christian parents and their fellow church members aren’t just “going through the motions” whenever they dedicate their young infants to God, pledging to parent them and educate them according to biblical principles, and (as church members) pledging to help the young parents in their duties. Concepts such as dedication, faithfulness, loyalty, and obedience are all but forgotten in our confused culture. We, as believers, must ensure that these crucial concepts never become bygone memories within the church. Stay faithful. Stay true. It matters! It will matter for eternity.