I've been thinking about John 17 for the weekend and a seminar I'm doing on godliness as opposed to half heartedness. What is really striking is that Jesus prays that his Father would protect his disciples who the world hates, because he has given them God's word, and then sends them out into the very world which he says hates them(v18).
It's not how we do protection is it. We do protection by bubble wrap, bouncer or padlock. If you fear for your children and their contact with drugs and alcohol you keep them safe at home and try to limit their exposure to those pressures and dangers. We spend most of our lives protecting ourselves and those we love from dangers, from the effects of hate. But Jesus says he is sending the disciples off into the world which hates them BUT they go with the Father's protection(11).
There is no safer place to be than protected by God no matter the situation they face, its a lesson I need to remember and keep being reminded of.
But it is also striking that he prays that they would be "in" the world but "not of" it. That they would not absorb the worlds values but live in the world sanctified by God's word of truth (17). It is a prayer echoed in the next section as he prays for all believers.
So what does it mean to be "in" the world but "not of" it? It is a difficult balance to strike and sometimes we go too far one way or the other, either being of the world or not being in the world.
So what does it look like to be "in" the world but "not of" it sanctified by the truth? Where will it see us living our lives? It is certainly a call to be relationally involved in the world around us. It is a call to be engaging with the culture around us not sat in meetings or too busy for people.
Do you ever find yourself having to say no to someone because its this or that church meeting on that particular night? Is that being "in" the world? There is a balance to be struck and it is a hard one to maintain, but maybe being "in" but "not of" means spending as much time in the pub as the prayer meeting?
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And how do we feel and react when we feel that God is asking us to deal with so much at one time. How do we say to God that we cannot deal with another pressure or another hard place. How do live in the reality of God's protection when we feel so far away from that and rather feel that God is punishing us?
What does ' not being of this world' mean when we have to deal with the reality of living in this world?
You are right though, there is a lot of pressure to go to this Church event and that Church event. To bring your friends along to events, but when do we then have to time to build a relationships with them. Does bring "in" and "not of" meant that we can build those relationsbhips up, but not necessarily bring them to church?
In John 17 Jesus prays that the disciples would be sanctified, set apart or dedicated. How are they be sanctified? By God's word whihc is truth. So God's word will show us how to be in but not of the world.
Therefore we are to live in this world but not by the standards of the world we live in. It is the call to shine like stars in the midst of a crooked an depraved generation.
Pressure is part of life, especially in the world in which we live which challenges us to eb the perfect parent, to have the perfect marriage, to excel at work and to have fabulous friendships. It is a recipe for disaster and is totally unrealistic.
But as Chritians the encouragement comes from knowing that I am loved by God who has sent his son to die for me. That I can pray to him, that he sees and knows my struggles, but that I don't have to be perfect to earn his approval because Jesus was.
Hebrews 12 says that discipline is a sign of sonship, it is a sign of love. But discerning if God is disciplining us is difficult.
Fellowship means not dealing with such pressures in isolation but, as part of God's family, getting help and support as we seek to do so.
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