Not So Pop Culture

Not So Pop Culture 

As we start out our traveling as a team, there has already been a considerable amount of hours stacked up in our two vehicles. One thing that we found instantly that all of our team members have in common is that we love listening to driving music, so there is often someone's listening device hooked into the speakers for some tasteful background harmony to our conversations.

The other day I became really excited hearing one song from popular culture. The thing about living your life for Jesus means that you begin to interpret the world in a refreshed way. I became excited about this seemingly ordinary, secular song, because I was able to relate it back to God. And I found it's true that so many songs in popular culture can be linked back to themes of salvation, spiritual warfare, and especially searches for truth and love. It is as if the music scene is holding back all explicit mention of God, but their search for Him is bleeding through their work, leaving blots of Him that mark His presence.

The culture is a desert, and people are lost and hunting for an oasis where they can truly be at peace--and that oasis is Jesus. I saw it at a recent retreat where one of the girls sat off to the side by herself, completely uninvolved and not interested in being there. I felt drawn to talk to her, and despite the awkwardness, I kept speaking to her until I found common ground: she loved to read, and so did I. She was not placed in my small group, but I found out later that during the time of prayer ministry she approached her small group leader, packaged rosary clutched in her hand, and said, "I don't know why, but I just feel called to pray this every day." As she left that day, she had a rosary, instructions written by her small group leader for how to pray it, and an easier smile.

This girl had recognized what she had been searching for, and even though she didn't understand why, she had a newly focused understanding of how to get there. With the way God works, I know that won't be the last time people realize what they're searching for during this year. Our whole team is excited to listen to God's symphony of salvation, and to see how He plays upon us as His instruments to amplify His sound of love.

Encounter 2 Blog ~ Samantha Wigglesworth