Within the pages of the her Bible, Mom wrote the phrase, "Be in the world but not of it." As believers we've heard this over and over again. I suppose it's become cliché for us. We work around it's truth by rationalizing, "I am listening to this music so that I can know what the world finds enjoyable. We do this with movies, TV shows, and even the places we go. So what does the phrase mean? To me its a way of saying to someone to be engaged in the lives of people and to be disengaged from the evil talons of the culture. Where do you find yourself? On one hand, sometimes followers of Jesus can be so weird, self-righteous and lofty that folks around can't stand being even around them. By the way that's not a good thing. My head is so far in the clouds that I've lost influence with those around me far from God. The other camp is just as dangerous. Here's an example. I actively join folks in drinking in order to be one of them, thinking that I will gain a foothold to influence them to be more like Jesus. What sort of twisted logic is that? I say this over and over again to my church. LOVE and SERVE. Want to engage folks far from God? LOVE and SERVE. Be in the world by loving and serving those far from God. God's Spirit is actively creating the touch points as we are engaging folks far from God. It really is that simple!
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