How long can a civilization endure when detached from its roots, most importantly, from truth itself? That question is at the heart of the recent documentary Truth Rising, produced by Focus on the Family and The Colson Center for Christian Worldview.

Os Guinness, one of the world’s leading apologists and my co-host in the documentary, often refers to the West as a “cut flower civilization.” Detached from the essential truths that rooted and nourished it, the West cannot survive. When an entire civilization abandons the ideals that nourish it, there are consequences.

That’s why most civilizations are subjects of history books, and their artifacts stock the shelves of museums. History can tell us that a civilization died, and sociology might even tell us why, but neither can help us know how to live in a civilization’s most pivotal time. But that is where we are, and thus we must choose: renewal or decline?

For followers of Christ, this is not a strategic choice. Rather, it is an issue of obedience. We were called to this time and place, not by accident, but by God’s design. Every Christian must decide: Will I obey the call of Christ in this moment, or will I shrink back?

In Truth Rising, and the accompanying Truth Rising: The Study, which is now available at colsoncenter.org/study, God’s game plan for this civilizational moment is summarized in four essential concepts: hope, truth, identity, and calling. The first lesson of The Study, and the first of these essential concepts, is “hope.”

When the Bible speaks of hope, it is never in the sense of wishful thinking. The Bible never speaks of hoping for something to change. Biblical hope, both for this moment and for the future, is securely based on what Jesus Christ has already accomplished. Hope is eternal because Christ defeated death, sin, hell, and the grave. Christians believe that the most important truth about this (or any) civilizational moment is what Christ has done.

The four pillars of Christian hope revealed in the Bible must be recognized in this cultural moment. First, Christ is risen. The Resurrection is the central moment in human history and the most important truth of this cultural moment. Second, Christ is Lord. As the Sovereign over all things, the Lord Jesus Christ sits on the throne of heaven and earth. This is true whether people personally recognize it or not. Third, Christ is making all things new. The world is moving toward renewal within God’s redemptive plan. Finally, God has made us for this time and place. We are not in this moment by accident; God chose us to live in this time and place.

As Christians, even amidst the significant cultural challenges we face today, we are people of hope, made for such a time as this, and providentially placed in this moment of God’s unfolding story. As Peter writes, we are “born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ…”

We must not despair nor wish we lived in different times. God has placed each of us at this precise moment in history for His own sovereign purposes. Our calling is to step into the moment we’ve been given with hope-inspired courage, knowing who is reigning over all things: our Lord Jesus Christ.

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