“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. Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.” -John 17: 14-19

This was a part of Jesus’ prayer for His disciples before His arrest and crucifixion. Something that sticks out to me from this prayer is this idea that we as Christians are not “of this world”. How can you be in the world and yet not in the world at the same time?

When the Bible speaks of “the world” it refers to the kingdom that Man has established on earth in rebellion against God and His Heavenly Kingdom and rule. We see in the earthly kingdom that Man feels compelled to live by the Moral Law that God has set up for them but they are unable to and are compelled to resist. They find in themselves a desire to go against what is true and right and to go by their feelings and what is best for themselves. The world determines a man’s worth by what he owns and what he has accomplished. We also see that the world loves to focus on the negatives and very rarely on anything positive, as evidenced by any news station. Above all, we see that there is just something that isn’t right. We feel there ought not to be all the disaster on the news. We feel like we ought to be able to be honest and upright citizens. We feel like we should be able to find rest and peace in something. But for some reason we can’t. No matter what we try to do, there’s always something missing.

“Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest from the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” ” –John 18:36

Then we have this man called Jesus. He started preaching of a different way to live and more importantly, a different kingdom. He teaches that what this world prides itself on is foolish. Where the world tells you to succeed no matter who you must step on to get there, Jesus taught humility. Where the world tells you that you deserve to treat someone wrong who has wronged you, Jesus taught forgiveness and restoration. Where the world tells you to do what’s best for yourself and work yourself to near the point of death to provide for yourself and your family, Jesus taught to seek God and all that you need will be given to you. His Kingdom is one of love and peace, where it doesn’t matter who you are or what you have done but rather whose you are and what He has done. His Kingdom leads to eternal life with God and freedom from every chain of sin that binds you. His Kingdom leads you to fulfillment in the One who created you that nothing in this world can even compare to. There then seems to be a stark contrast between man’s kingdom and God’s kingdom.

“The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.” -John 12:25-26

Jesus claimed to be the Son of God and the only way to salvation and eternal life. We see that Jesus also makes a clear statement: You are either with Him or against Him. He left no middle ground. Either you believe that He is the Son of God and you lay down your life and everything you hold dear to your heart in this world to follow Him or you reject Him and live for this world and follow it. I’ll be the first to admit that this is the hardest challenge I’ve had to face in my life and I fail every day. Every so often He must ask me the same simple question: “Do you love me or love the world?” You can’t have them both.

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” –John 15:18-19

The apostle Paul refers to Christians as the scum of the earth and the waste of the world. He makes it clear, and even Jesus Himself, that those who follow Him will be persecuted. We will be mocked, slandered, and abused. We will lose relationships. Jesus calls us to take our hold off of all that we hold most dear and give it to Him. He calls us to deny what we feel and follow Him wherever He leads us. He never promises an easy life filled with happiness and void of difficulties. So it begs the question: Why would you ever want to be a Christian? Why would you be willing to die, both to your desires and even possibly physical death? I cannot answer for all Christians, but I will tell you why by my own experience.

I’ve seen and experienced firsthand how this world, how sin takes. I’ve seen how it destroys relationships and shatters hope. I’ve shed many tears when I’ve seen my friends run towards things in this world that will only leave them more hurt and broken than before. This world only takes and leaves you more empty than you were the day before, until everything is stripped away and you’re left more broken than you could ever imagine. When that happened to me I cried out to a God who I didn’t even really believe in but was so desperate that I managed to summon a tiny ounce of humility and faith to ask for His help. And oh if I could share with you how it feels to have your heart so tenderly touched by Love itself. If I could allow you to look in on those dark and lonely nights I felt so worthless but heard a whisper of pure love and acceptance. So many times I’ve run back to the things of this world and every time I turn back to Him I see Him pursuing me with nothing in His eyes but forgiveness and the sweetest of grace.

So to get to my point: The things and pleasures of this world, though sometimes so very sweet, are only temporary and never bring about true fulfillment. It’ll all pass away. You’ll lose the job. You’ll lose the boyfriend or girlfriend. Someone will always disappoint you or make you mad. But God’s Kingdom is eternal and every decision you make today will have consequences on your eternity. His Kingdom is so worth dying for because in His Kingdom you experience Life Himself. There is freedom. Not to do as you please but rather to do as He pleases, which brings so many blessings and will always be exactly what you need. All that is required to enter into this glorious Kingdom is to accept Jesus as Lord and as the Savior of yourself from your sin. Know that He has already chosen and accepted you. Come to Him and lose your life so you may find it. Not plagued by sin but as it should have been from the start, in worship to Him who knows you so intimately and yet loves you with an everlasting love.

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us.” –Romans 8:18