At times of political
surprise, even fear, it’s easy to forget that Jesus says that Christians are ‘not
of this world’!
To meditate/pray upon
John 17:14-16 “I have given them your word and the
world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the
world. My prayer is not
that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil
one. They are not of the world, even as I
am not of it.”
John 18:36 ‘Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it
were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But
now my kingdom is from another place.”
1 John 2:15-17 ‘Do not love the world or anything in the world. If
anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For
everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the
pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The
world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives
forever.’
Jesus says of Christians that we ‘are not of this world’.
I’m always moved by the story of a missionary couple, returning home
after many years of sacrificial service. A band plays and a ticker-tape parade
is given in honour of some dignitary who has shared their ship, whilst they
look on, uncelebrated and dejected. Then
one turns to the other and says, “but we’re not home yet”!
Christians live in this world but our real citizenship is in heaven. We
are on the earth for a period, in order to do God’s will, and seek to save
people through the gospel.
Christians must learn to see themselves as citizens of heaven, of God’s
Kingdom, indeed even being ‘new creations’. If we saturate ourselves in the
messages of this world, this identity will be dimmed in our thinking. We are
not of this world – its values are not ours, its ‘kings’ are not ours, its
loves are not ours. We have a new king, a new word, new destiny, and new life.
How do we relate to this world if we are not of it? Here are four basic
relationship examples:
- To God as king – We obey God’s word over and above all other authorities. (Acts 5:39)
- The church – How do we treat one-another in the church? As family and fellow citizens of heaven. We love and submit to one another whilst recognising the authority of elders that God has put over us. (Hebrews 13:17)
- To those outside of the church – We seek to draw them to salvation in Christ and express God’s grace through works of generosity and mercy. (Matt. 5:14-16, 1 Pet. 2:12-)
- To government and other authorities – We recognise God’s sovereignty - in putting people in governmental positions – as we seek to obey them for God’s glory. This means we will disobey all authorities that direct us to compromise our worship. (John 19:11, Romans 13:1-7, 1 Pet. 2:13-17)
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