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Education Ministry

Posted on March 9, 2005 ...

I learned a new phrase this week: The Tipping Point. Malcolm Gladwell, author of a book by this title, defines it as "one dramatic moment in an epidemic when everything can change all at once." In other words, it is that moment when a behavior or idea has gained so much momentum that a new reality emerges. This may be observed in trends such as clothing styles and diets; or major social changes like what we are seeing in Iraq. Thomas Friedman believes the recent election in Iraq is just such a tipping point to a new reality there. He wrote in a recent article:

Thanks to eight million Iraqis defying "you vote, you die" terrorist threats, Iraq has been reframed from a story about Iraqi "insurgents" trying to liberate their country from American occupiers and their Iraqi "stooges" to a story of the overwhelming Iraqi majority trying to build a democracy, with U.S. help, against the wishes of Iraqi Baathist-fascists and jihadists.

This is history in the making - and not just history in Iraq. Recent events in Israel, Lebanon, and Iran just might be reshaping the reality of the entire Middle East. Even in our own country, we are witnessing the reshaping of America. Technological advances, new scientific discoveries, and changes in the social fabric of America are creating a different reality for my kids than the one in which I grew up. The Cold War is over. 9/11 has happened. It’s a whole new ball game.

Now as interesting as all this is on the level of societies, I want to bring this idea of “the tipping point” down to an individual level; more specifically, the spiritual level. Everyone who has found new life in Christ Jesus must experience a tipping point in the way he thinks and lives; that dramatic moment when the old life passes away and the new life comes. Living in order to please God is a radical departure from living to please self. Thus, becoming a child of God is nothing short of a new reality for those who are truly His.

This highlights two very important points: First, it is a good indicator that a person is truly saved. Every authentic Christian must know that, for them, reality has forever been altered by Jesus. Even those who become Christians at a very early age, and know no other way, will in time experience the tipping point when Christ becomes the Divine Center of their lives. The second point has to do with our thoughts about those outside the Christian faith. As we seek to lead them to a saving relationship with Christ, we must keep in mind the enormity of it all. When we witness to unbelievers and ask them to accept Christ as Savior and Lord, we are asking them to submit to the most radical reformation of their lives – the abandonment of certain beliefs they have held since childhood, and the acceptance of others they have either rejected or never considered.

Let this serve as a reminder, especially to those of us who have been Christians for years, that we are radically different from the world in which we live. Salvation is our tipping point to an entirely different reality.