" When we believe and receive the gift of Jesus in our lives, we are to see ourselves as residents of God’s Kingdom now. "
When you go on a trip, how long does it take for you to realize you are not home anymore? Does it happen as soon as you leave your driveway, excited for the adventure ahead? Maybe it’s when you see the first sign welcoming you to another state? Or you traveled so far the people around you are not even speaking your language anymore?
Being Christian, in many ways, should give us this same sense of feeling. We should realize we are living in a different place.
Jesus offers a prayer before His death. The entire prayer is worthy to read, but hear in this part how He describes the relationship we are to have with the world:
14 I gave your word to them and the world hated them, because they don’t belong to this world, just as I don’t belong to this world. 15 I’m not asking that you take them out of this world but that you keep them safe from the evil one. 16 They don’t belong to this world, just as I don’t belong to this world. 17 Make them holy in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 I made myself holy on their behalf so that they also would be made holy in the truth. (John 17, CEB)
His disciples, those who follow Him, are in this world yes, but it is no longer their home. When we believe and receive the gift of Jesus in our lives, we are to see ourselves as residents of God’s Kingdom now.
Jesus sends us into the world as the Father sent Him. A few chapters before this prayer, John writes,
34 “I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. 35 This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.” (John 13, CEB)
What if we understood Being Christian as going from being God’s enemies, to being holy and blameless, adopted into His family. We go from living for ourselves, to fully giving all of who we are to Him. We read the Bible and follow it because it shows us the world we now live in. Even more, it describes who we are in this world too.
Being Christian is a Journey with Jesus, following Him as He leads us in His Kingdom now.
Blessings,
Pastor Matt