But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I
don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to
you. And when he comes, he will convict the world of its
sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The
world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. Righteousness is
available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. Judgment
will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged. John 16:7-11
What is the difference between being of the world and in the
world? They sound so similar. I liken it to one of my favorite football
players. The player is ‘of’ the
Miami Dolphins, which is my favorite football team. The player is also ‘in’ the National
Football League. When you are of something,
that is who you represent. When you are in
something, you are part of a similar but larger collective. It’s a subtle but important difference. We are all living ‘in’ the world, but
we are ‘of’ the Christian faith.
But here is what’s important to remember. All because a person is not ‘of’ the
Christian faith does not mean that they are not ‘in’ our world for a
reason. In fact, one might argue God
placed them ‘in’ our lives to introduce Christ to them.
We should always be conscious of the differences between
people of this world versus in the world itself. There are many times that I have heard others
call people ‘evil’ and ‘of this world.’
I never truly bought into that, but I was not able to figure out why
because people would commit sin and do things wrongfully. It would make sense to call them evil or
worldly, right? But note what Jesus said
here. He said, “The
world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me.” He is not condemning an individual. He condemned ‘the world’ or as it would be
clearer The Devil. Why is this
important? It means that no person can
truly be judged by us as either ‘evil’ or ‘of this world.’ That’s not to say they won’t be sinful,
commit evil acts, or either choose the world over Christ or refuse Him. What it does mean is no one is beyond
redemption. In the book of Luke,
Zechariah, prophesying the coming of Christ, said, “Praise the Lord, the God of
Israel, because he has visited and redeemed his people.” (Luke 1:68) Our role
is not to levy our standards on others (note what Jesus said about the ruler of
this world). It is to tell those the
message of Christ for if they are given His truth, they too can distinguish
between being in the world versus being of the
world.
God loves us. It’s
not about what we feel about others.
It’s about how God would want us to respond to them. It is clear what He would say, “For this is
how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone
who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John
3:16). Let us focus on being the lover
of God’s people and separate the evil of the world from the people who
live in it. Who have you
wrongfully condemned? Where can you
replace judgment with love? My prayer is
that we show mercy toward others and recognize our opportunity to save those in
the world to become of God's Kingdom.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment