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They will no doubt be as perplexed as Nebuchadnezzar by our peculiar sense of the important and the unimportant, our upside-down sense of the ultimate. They may never share our conviction that our culture, like every other in human history, is surely destined to one day be as fine as the dust in the desert south of Baghdad. Yet they may sense our hope that like the long-ago kingdom of the Chaldeans, this empire will be remembered in part because the people of God found themselves as exiles in its midst and sought its welfare.

Perhaps this empire will even be remembered on that day when many who sleep in the dust awake. Sustained, though also laid low, by that vision, we too can rise and go about the king's business.

Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Andy Crouch's Christianity Today column, Always in Parables, is available on our site.

Christian Vision Project articles include:

Behold, the Global Church | It's time we figured out how to talk--and listen--to one another. By Brenda Salter McNeil (November 17, 2006)

The Church's Great Malfunctions | We should be our own fiercest critics, doing so out of the deep beauty and goodness of our faith. By Miroslav Volf (November 10, 2006)

For Shame? | Why Christians should welcome, rather than stigmatize, unwed mothers and their children. By Amy Laura Hall (September ,1 2006)

Our Transnational Anthem | 'O say can you see … ' a church where many cultures work together in Christ? By Orlando Crespo (August, 2006)

Experiencing Life at the Margins | An African bishop tells North American Christians the most helpful gospel-thing they can do. Interview by Andy Crouch (July 1, 2006)

The Phone Book Test | Robert P. George explains how a simple experiment reveals the great divide in our culture. Interview by Andy Crouch (June 1, 2006)

A New Kind of Urban Christian | As the city goes, so goes the culture. By Tim Keller (May 1, 2006)

The Conservative Humanist | Those who are pro-life and pro-family should have no problem being pro-human. By Glen T. Stanton (April 21, 2006)

Loving the Storm-Drenched | We can no more change the culture than we can the weather. Fortunately, we've got more important things to do. By Frederica Mathewes-Green (March 3, 2006)

Habits of Highly Effective Justice Workers | Should we protest the system or invest in a life? Yes. By Rodolpho Carrasco (Feb. 3, 2006)

How the Kingdom Comes | The church becomes countercultural by sinking its roots ever deeper into God's heavenly gifts. By Michael S. Horton (Jan. 13, 2006)

Inside CT
Better Than a Cigar | Introducing the Christian Vision Project. By David Neff (Jan. 13, 2006)

More CVP articles from our sister publications are available on ChristianVisionProject.com.

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December 2006, Vol. 50, No. 12