It’s usually around this time of year in our country that we can tend to feel the most “separate”.
As the world joyfully celebrates a creepy fat demon entering their homes at night through their chimneys on the evening of their Saturn-worship day, and then merrily proclaim that their infant-god of antinomianism is the reason for the season, we can feel quite a bit like we don’t belong.
Sacred to almost all those who profess belief in “Jesus”, I get more questions, more disapproval, more challenge, and disbelief toward me and my beliefs regarding christmas than almost any other tenant of biblical faith (such as the Sabbath, tassel-wearing, etc).
But it’s not really about the struggle between us and christmas keeping, it’s about the struggle between a believer and the whole world.
“If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” – John 15:19
There is a common catchphrase for this verse and others like it, and that is “We should be in the world but not of it”.
But that is easier said than done.
Some of us are tempted.
Some of us are challenged.
Some of us are frustrated.
Some of us just plain have contempt for society, people, and all the situations around us.
This is the struggle! The struggle of being in the world but not of it.
“And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” –John 17:10-18
Yeshua recognizes and validates the struggle.
How many of us from time to time have thought: “oh if only I could rid myself of this mortal body?” Or how many of us get frustrated by the fact that here we are in a world that is contrary to Yah’s way?
I mean sometimes it feels a bit like a cruel joke, like a child put inside a store with toys and candy without supervision but told not to touch anything. Be in the world but not a part of it.
If we dissect this commission a bit, we can glean some encouragement. In John 17:18, the Greek word for “into” has a definition that includes “purpose” and “intent”, whereas the Greek word for “of” (v. 16) means ‘of the same composition’.
The struggle of being in the world but not of it all boils down to a simple concept: Influence.
On one hand Yeshua sends us into the world, which means we have a purpose and an intent for being here. We are to influence the world.
On the other hand we are not to conform to the world, we are to be apart from it (separate = aka the definition of “holy”), we are not to let it influence us.
It’s a battle, if you will, a battle of influence. The difference between being in the world but not of the world is the difference between influencing and being influenced.
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” – Romans 12:2
So then, the “great commission” is more than just “preaching the gospel to every nation”, we are here with the intent and purpose to influence it. To influence the people around us. We are to be a force for what is right. A standard, a motivational bulldozer sent to push the entire world in the right direction!
Romans 12 says that by doing this, by influencing instead of being influenced, we will PROVE the right way.
Of course the caveat here is to not conform, not be influenced instead. Because of course we know of the force pushing back at us.
When I was young, there was a period of time where my family and I were a part of the world. We did the mainstream things, and christmas was my favorite! I loved the songs, I loved the smell of the tree inside, I loved candy canes and shortbread cookies, stocking presents, getting together with my whole family, smiling people, the whole world in unity over a simple season and celebration.
If you grew up in true faith and have never celebrated christmas, you do not understand the emotional feeling that is attached, that is pushed, that becomes an influencer regarding this day. The enemy has spent thousands of years developing unique and effective forms of influence, whereas each of us have only been alive in the past 100 years, we have only had as much time as our lives to develop ways to counter-influence the world for good. (Perhaps that is why there are many of us, and only one adversary!)
Since we know that we are here specifically to influence the world (yeah, we’re basically supposed to be God’s own army of trend-setting-hipsters) and not the other way around, we should take some time to see what type of influence the world is sneaking past our senses and embedding into us.
We are all tainted, unfortunately. The world is like some giant nuclear catastrophe. Yah has sent us with our holy-spirit inspired hazmat suits to clean up the carnage, but unfortunately some of the deadly toxins still work their way into our system without us knowing. And this worldly influence can indeed affect our actions, and impact our ability to be effective influencers for Yeshua.
“For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the nations: when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.” – 1 Peter 4:3-4
It is really hard. I understand.
To not do what the rest of your family does.
It is really frustrating, to not do what your friends do.
It is really lonely sometimes, to separate yourselves from those who are not following God’s torah.
And sometimes it can be a temptation that rears its ugly head. The temptation comes because of what influence has already seeped into our minds and our hearts.
Ask yourselves some questions as you battle the world’s influence in order to purify your own actions:
Where do you get your information? Is it the local newspaper? Do you get your information from a favorite blog writer who spews negativity about certain topics? Or positivity about other select topics? Do you get your information from a specific news channel that you think leans towards a particular political side? Do you get your information from favorite authors, scholars, historians? From friends, parents, family members, celebrities, government officials? Or maybe doom scrolling tiktok, reels, shorts, etc etc.
Certainly, much wisdom can be gained from many counselors, but any information source on this world, no matter how wholesome, will have some sort of bias. Where we get our information influences how we think.
What do we base our ideas upon? All the information that feed our minds and hearts to make sense of the world, these all formulate our ideas about the world and how we should interact with it and think about it. Someone who spends all their time on and gets all their information from conspiracy based websites, will probably have ideas that differ from those who stick to Disney+.
Once we know where we get our information from and how that formulates our ideas… what is our perspective based on when we look at the world around us?
Do we view everyone and everything with mistrust? Do we view people and systems with naivety? Are our perspectives tainted by the influence of the world, through the information we gather to form our ideas? Do we think, “by partaking of these activities or concepts, it doesn’t mean I’m being a bad person”?
It’s easy to see how the world can subtly influence us, and remove our ability to influence it, instead.
“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which Yahweh God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”” – Genesis 3:1
Reflect for a moment upon this verse. Do you ever stop and think about what the relationship between the two humans and the serpent should have been? Why were they talking to a snake at all?!?! Let alone taking counsel from it. What happened between the end of chapter 2 and 3:1? What led up to that point where they were on first name basis?? Talking like old friends with an animal?
I mean – really think about it.- Adam and Eve were in charge of the animals, of taking care of them, of naming them (Genesis 1:27-28). They were made master over these creatures! It was their job to dictate to the animals, not the other way around!
What we see when we read about the serpent coercing Eve into eating the forbidden fruit is the changeover between influence. Adam and Eve no longer were influencing the snake, the snake was influencing them instead.
Now relate that back to us. We are Adam and Eve, the world is the snake. We are commissioned to influence the snake, the world, not the other way around. If we allow ourselves to be influenced, we fall right back into the same trap.
What is your perspective of the hot topics of today? Trump. Homosexuality. Abortion. Physician assisted suicide. Or maybe the less volatile topics. Christmas. Drinking parties. Cell phones. Magical fantasy movies. Romance books. Are your perspectives on these topics and everything else based deeply on the Bible?
Are your ideas about the world and how it works and how we should think about things, interact with others, and worship Yah based on the Bible? Is your information coming from the Bible?
These are all great questions to ask ourselves constantly. Because without knowing it our information will be tainted in some way or another, which will affect our ideas, which will mold our perspectives, which lead to how we act.
We are to be in the world and not of it, WE are to influence IT, not have IT influence US.
So how should we feel about the world?
Now this might seem like an obvious question. I mean, how should you feel about a place where:
- God is ignored, slandered, forgotten, rebuked, made fun of
- Our beliefs are labeled as bigoted, ancient, ridiculous, or dumb
- Moral virtue is all but non-existent and perversion runs rampant
Do you feel sad? Do you feel angry? Do you feel hopeless? Or maybe a bit of intrigue, depending on where you stand in your faith?
Well here’s the ironic thing… we should not hate this world.
Why?
Because this world is our mission ground!
Imagine you hire someone in their dream job, and on their first day they tell you that they love the work, but hate your company. That’s what it must be like to our Father when we hate this world. “Thanks for the mission ground dad, but uh, I hate it.”
The reason why the work of Yeshua was so successful and has effected so many millions of people over the years is that God LOVES the world.
Right? What is the only verse that every Christian in the whole world seems to know? John 3:16 “for God so loved the world…”
And if that’s true (spoiler: it is), then we must love the world too.
We need to view the world and the people in it as the father viewed the prodigal son. With potential, with purpose, the same way Yah views us. With love, expectation, and with intent.
So that begs the question, if we are not to hate the world, if we are to be in it but not of it, what is the difference between fleeing and separating from sin/evil and hiding our light?
I think sometimes we can misinterpret Yeshua’s instructions to us regarding not conforming to this world (being apart from it aka being “holy”), as an excuse to hide away or separate ourselves completely. Just like some of those cultish communes that we read about in the news that wall themselves off, interbreed, and shoot at the government.
“And what accord has Messiah with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Therefore “come out from among them and be separate, says Yahweh. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.”” – 2 Corinthians 6:15-17
“Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.” – Revelation 18:4
The visual we might come away with here is of people actually leaving the midst of other people, like moving from Boston to go live separate in the wilderness of beautiful VT. But if we take scriptures like this in context with the rest of scripture, we begin to see that that is not necessarily the separation being asked of us.
I’ve been reading a lot about some missionary work being done in the Islamic nations for converted Muslims and Christian believers that live there. One of the struggles for communities and churches in areas like Africa and the Middle East is that believers are fleeing the trials and struggles of their countries, leaving no one left to ‘shine the light’ and be an example of Christian ways. Now I’ve never been in these types of situations, and so I pass no judgment. But it causes one to think a little. Luke 11:33 reminds us that “no one lights a lamp and then causes it to be hidden”. We have already seen that we were sent into this world for action, to influence it, not to be passive, hidden, or run from every form of errant societal pressure.
Instead here’s the type of separation Yah is talking about:
“But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly; Yahweh will hear when I call to Him.” – Psalms 4:3
“For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” – Deuteronomy 14:2
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” – 1 Peter 2:9
To be set apart (holy) does not mean to be removed. That’s the whole point of being IN the world, is so that we are not removed. If we remove ourselves, we have no effect, we produce no witness, we provide no influence.
It’s a high calling, it’s a HARD calling. It’s frustrating. But it is the will of God.
We are not to “hate” the world, for it is our mission ground. If it’s our mission, we need to look on it with love, and provide the service to it, to the world, that we have been sent to do. We are not to remove ourselves from it, but rather only we set apart in that we are not partaking of the sins (Rev 18:4) which the world tries to influence.
When this upcoming world holiday passes, the focus will be on something else. Our romantic relationships, our entertainment habits, how we choose to worship God, and so forth. In all of these things, are we striving to be in the world but not of it?
We need to influence the world and not the other way around.
We need to ask ourselves questions to see if the world’s influence has already altered our information, ideas, perspectives, and ultimately our actions.
We need to love our mission ground, the world, and be set apart but not removed.
The first year that my family decided to stop keeping christmas, in my heart, I refused. I must have been around 9 at the time. I took these little pet rocks that I had (they were cool back then, OK?), and I put them in a shoebox, and in that box I made a little paper christmas tree, with little presents for my pet rock friends, and I celebrated christmas alone that year with my imaginary friends, in my room, with my own christmas music playing. As a little kid, not knowing any better, I had been influenced by the world and it impacted my actions and perception. But the next year, I had listened to my parents a bit more, paid attention at church a bit more. I took out that shoebox with the rocks and fake christmas tree, and I threw it in the trash.
What are you holding onto in your life that is worldly influence?
It’s time to fight back!
We were sent into this world for great purpose, to make our own changes and push people and society towards God and everything that is right.
Let’s all move forward and be IN the world, but not OF it.
