Sometimes I wonder if we really know what it means to stand apart from this world. I might end up sounding like a broken record on this topic, but it is the one the Lord seems to be hammering into my heart and mind. So, it is the one I'm sharing.
If you were to take an explorative journey through 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, and many of the prophets, something just might stand out. It has for me, at least. The Israelites had forgotten what was in the law. They had forgotten what God had outlined not just for their "church" experiences, but for their daily lives. They had forgotten how to live like they were set apart. As a result, they just blended in with the societies around them.
Isaiah puts it this way...
For You have abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob, because they are filled with influences from the east, and they are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they strike bargains with the children of foreigners. Their land has also been filled with silver and gold and there is no end to their treasures; their land has also been filled with horses and there is no end to their chariots. Their land has also been filled with idols; they worship the work of their hands, that which their fingers have made. So the common man has been humbled and the man of importance has been abased, but do not forgive them. Isaiah 2:6-9 (NASB)
The scary thing is that this sounds a lot like us. We as American Christians are filled with the influences of American society. Look at our daily lives. How we choose our spouses, raise and educate our children, choose our daily needs such as groceries and living conditions, plan our vacations and leisure, and determine our daily activities are based on the society in which we live. The evaluation of our possessions is based on a comparison with the American dream. The work of our hands, whether it be that paycheck or other successes, is very important to us.
The New Testament church was so different from the rest of society that believers were often very greatly misunderstood by their neighbors. All sorts of rumors floated around about the cannibalistic anti-government wackos who followed The Way. We are so far removed from that that we can actually go through our daily lives without people realizing we are Christians! We come across as good, moral people, but that's about as special as it gets. What a contrast!
It has been a hard thing for me to evaluate my life in light of this. It is not easy to look at what I have and what I do each day and ask, "Lord, am I blending in or am I set apart?" To be honest, I've had to give up some things that were not fun to give up. But, I find my life so much freer because of it. Sadly, it still doesn't come naturally. I still fight it. I find that what I am clinging to most stubbornly is probably the next thing I must release. Sometimes God gives it back to me in a much more godly way, but other times it must go for good.
If we were to really take a prayerful look at our lives, both our individual daily lives and our lives as a church, and then be willing to make changes to stand apart, I think we would see some of the amazing growth we say we crave. But first we have to be willing to stand apart and be more than a little weird in the eyes of our society!
3 comments:
Oh man, this is so hard for me because I spent years "set apart" and it accomplished nothing. I've also tried to be all things to all men so that I may save some, and that hasn't worked out so hot either.
May we follow as the Lord leads and teaches us what it means to be "in the world, but not of it."
~Luke
At my last pedi. appointment with Sam the dr. told me he had thought of me recently (we've had the same Dr. since Will was born 6 yrs ago). Another patient had recently had her 4th child and was telling him she was losing her mind. :) He thought of me as one of a handful of patients with 4 kids who are "normal."
It made be pause for a while. I'm NORMAL?! Homeschooling- no tv owning - church going - s@hm me? Is normal?!
It really is such a fine line. Why are we doing things that are different? For the sake of being different? Or obedience?
As usual, thanks for the food for thought!
Stephanie: You don't own a TV? You FREAK! Just kidding. But how often have we encountered (or, unfortunately been) the people that would take your not having a TV as the template to copy. Never mind that we're to be imitators of Christ, we'll imitate you instead of Him.
Luke: we walk that line a lot, between being all things and being totally separated. It's hard to balance, and I think it's because that's part of God's growing and work in our individual lives. I think there are times when we should be a little more distant from the world, and times we should be more in the midst of everything and everyone to reach out.
Of course, personally, my heartfelt desire is to find some very remote land, build a large fence, and only allow invited parties in, and never go out. But I'd fail the Great Commission that way.
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