Romanticism

The idea of the period of romanticism is so refreshing. The focus is on the individual, and the uniqueness and the nature of the person. There is no emphasis on the world, or society, or rationale and rules. I love that there is a period where the things that matter are those of the hearts desires. Romanticism tries to put meaning to the life you live. When I think of romanticism I think of the phrase “what will you do?” To me this encapsulates some of the big points of romanticism.

I think that romanticism can relate to modern Christianity in many ways. Romanticism is about feeling, experiencing, loving, living, and carrying out a life reflective of this. It is very much a life of action, and actually experiencing things, not just reading about them. Christianity today is emphasizing this. There is such a push on mission’s trips around the globe and at home in our own backyard. And in the minds of modern believers, when you hear the words “expanding the Kingdom of God” many picture that as getting up and spreading the message around the world. Expand the Kingdom yourself, don’t just rely on others. There is also an emphasis on what are you doing in your daily life to help expand the Kingdom? Notice once again the use of the word doing as it relates to the individuals work. This can be another form of redemption; doing our duties as disciples to try to expand Christianity throughout the globe.

Romanticism can be related to redemption. People of the romanticism period wanted to redeem themselves, by getting back to the basics of life and the emphasis of the individual. Redemption can be thought of the same way. It is now the time we need to put the emphasis on our relationship with Christ, instead of our relationship with the church.