In The World, Not Of The World by Bryan Craig

“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.”  John 17:6 ESV

I was on a long walk with a group of Christian brothers this morning, as we talked about life and how to live this Christian life in the world today.  How do you live in the world, but not be “worldly?”  As we walked, we saw a rainbow flag adorning a house, that said “Abide No Hatred.”  Of course, the word, “Abide” struck me since we talk about that all the time out of John 15.  But I was not familiar with this particular use of the word in this phrase.  Upon further investigation, this phrase arose out of an incident where there was a violent clash of protestors surrounding the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee on the University of Virginia campus in 2017. 

I was pondering this idea of “Abiding in No Hatred” and how that related to the Gay Pride movement, an assumption I drew from the rainbow flag, and how it also related to a clash over racial tensions.  I was thinking that there was a part of this sentiment that rang true.  Jesus said, “If you Abide in Me, you will bear fruit.”  And a big part of that fruit is Love.  So, if you abide in Christ, you will Love.  However, if your aim is to Abide in Not Hating, I feel like it does not necessarily lead to Love, but rather, to Pride.

As I chewed on these thoughts, I opened God’s Word for answers, as I always do, and the Spirit guided me to some verses that helped me understand His opinion about such things.

First, is the one I quoted above, out of John 17:6.  This is Jesus’ final big prayer for His disciples and for those of us who would come later, who would believe in Him.  He talks about how we were given to him “out of the world.”  As followers of Christ, He calls us to be set apart, out of the world.  This is where the familiar phrase comes from that we are to live “in the world, but not be of the world.” 

Then, there was John 15, the famous Abiding chapter, but I read verses 18-23, following those about abiding, where Jesus says:

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 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.  Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.  But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also.” 

My devotional writer said, “If we are of the world, we are not of Christ.  If we are of Christ, we are not of the world.”  And at church last week, my Sunday School class (yes, that’s still a thing) talked about Jesus being the “Narrow Gate.”

“For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”  Matthew 7:13-14 ESV

Following Jesus, being in Jesus, or of Jesus, is, for sure, the Way of Life.  But it sets you on a certain path that will be in stark contrast to the world around us and The World will not like it.  The World does not like one way.  The World likes no absolutes.  The World hates Jesus.

Why?  Well, Jesus lived in this world, but He was not of this world.  When Pilate asked Jesus if he was a king, right before he was executed, Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” (John 18:36)

So who is king of this world?  Jesus says Satan is the ruler of this world. (See John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11) That helps us understand why “The World” hates Christians.  “The World” is being influenced by its ruler, Satan.

Lastly, I read 1 John 2:15-17

“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. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

So, what do we make of all this?  How do we live in this world and not love it.  John says if we are in love with the world, we are all about our desires, our pride, ourselves.  But the one who loves Jesus, lives to please Him and to obey His will.

One of my favorite depictions of this was by Rick Warren, who posed this question. “When you go to your favorite seafood restaurant and order a nice piece of Mahi Mahi or Red Snapper, why do you reach for the saltshaker to season it.  This is a fish that has spent his whole life in saltwater.  Why would it need salt?”  He said that this fish has figured out how to “insulate” himself from his environment.  He doesn’t isolate himself, but he insulates himself.

We insulate ourselves by abiding in Christ.  We don’t go off into the mountains, so we won’t be tempted.  We, like Jesus did, live in this world and interact with people every day who love the world.  We don’t love the world, but we love the people of the world.  As we abide, Jesus gives us His love, the same love for all people, which caused Him to die for them.  It is a selfless, otherworldly kind of love that is not just sentiment.  It is a kind of love that forgives those who don’t deserve forgiveness.  It is a kind of love that shows grace, not judgment.  It is a love that may be out of sight, but like Light, cannot be hidden.  This is what the world needs, whether it knows it or not.  And thanks to Jesus, its available to all who desire it.