living unconventionally

Dear Lord,

A common phrase comes to mind when I consider how you call me to live: "be in the world, but not of the world." But when I think about it, what does it really mean? How exactly do believers live among sinners, as sinners themselves, but not be "of the world"? It seems like a very broad and open-ended command.

(*disclaimer: When I talk about "the world," I do not reference the people in the world, merely the result of Satan's power over it.)

The first part of the phrase is much more straightforward. You placed me on this Earth for a purpose. I must live in this broken world for a short time, because it is Your plan and good will come out of it. However, while I must be in this world, I cannot be of the world. In other words, I cannot allow the world to own me and consume me by its deception. In John 2:15, you command me "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." I cannot serve two masters, and this choice is an easy -- but oh so complex -- one.

Sin has consumed modern culture, and needy people have turned to materialism, selfishness, drugs, sex, and even violence in an attempt to solve their problems; yet, no matter how hard they search, they still can't find satisfaction. Only You can fill this void inside all our hearts. Now, because I have you, I have no need to chase after false solutions to my brokenness. I know that You alone are my answer. The world can no longer lure me with the lie that I can find "happiness" in its lifestyle. I know the truth -- that joy comes from You alone. 

You call me to stand out from the crowd and live radically. How can I say no? This world has nothing for me. I can no longer find any value in the things I own. I am no longer happy when I get my own way. Why? Because the Holy Spirit is inside me, filling my soul with joy, peace, grace, and unconditional love. I don't want to walk away from that to join the chaos of the world (although often times my sinful nature says otherwise).

The challenge comes when you call me to enter into the world. After all, during Jesus' time on Earth, he did not stay isolated to his own safe little group of disciples. No. You went out into the broken world and loved. And not with the "love" the world labels as a "good act;" the motive behind it is merely for personal gain. This was a sacrificial love that only You can perfectly display. As your ambassador, You call me to love people with gentleness and forgiveness, even when they don't deserve it. You want me to love them enough to humbly challenge them, even if it threatens my own reputation. That is how I am your hands and feet. In John 15:18, you warn me "If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." Because you lived differently, I will now live differently.

- Savannah Brooke