"I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one."
John 17:14-15
I absolutely love John 17. Jesus' passion for us is revealed through intimacy with the Father. Just think about it for one moment. The Creator came to this earth to restore a broken relationship with us. Humans....the scum of the earth. We ditched God for our own pride and desires. No matter how "good" you are, compared to God's standards we are nothing. At our best it is as though we are dressed in filthy rags. There is no way we can manufacture or create salvation for ourselves. Yet Jesus came to give us an opportunity to know our Father once again. Jesus had to appease the wrath of a Holy God. He did this by dying for you and me. Death could not hold Him down. Three days later He rose, and this is our victory. This is the beauty of the Gospel.
This brings me to the underlined scripture above. Often times I hear Christians pray and ask God (I find that I do it as well), "I wish I didn't struggle with this sin __________," or "I command this sin in my life to leave, in the name of Jesus!" You see, as Christians we have gotten to a point where we try to get a comfortable place in our lives, where there is no visible sin. Don't get me wrong, yes sin is evil and we need to strive to live a holy life (Matt. 5:48). While it is necessary to avoid sin, this does not mean to have a total disregard in serving God. The passage in John 17 has two components to it.
1) Jesus asks the Father to protect us, not that we would be taken out of the fight. This caused a total paradigm shift within me. Without fail we ask that God would free us from struggles, that if most people knew about, they would shun us. Its not wrong to desire to be free. However to even entertain the idea of wanting an easy way out is a contradiction to what true life (or better put, death) really is. After all, putting our desires to death is not a comfortable thing. Spiritual growth isn't gained by wishing away all our temptations. It is through an attitude of repentance and turning away from our sin. Silver is not purified nor is gold made beautiful without being put through the fire. Here is Paul's take on it.
"But He said to me 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
II Corinthians 12:9
Wow! How many of us can say that we delight in the season we are in right now? I know that is not always my attitude. It is through our weakness that God is glorified. In light of our failures our pride is shattered. There is nothing more delightful to God than, "...A broken and contrite heart." (Psalm 51:17)
2) Since we are still on this earth, there is a mission for us to accomplish. This mission is clearly stated in the verses that follow:
"As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world...I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."
John 17:18 and 23
This is not to be confused or intertwined with the American dream (which is a man made and self-exalting dream) somehow. What is the dream that God has given you? If your not sure. Read John 17 and meditate on it. Then consider that there are still around 4.5 billion people who live without Christ, while nearly 2 billion live in unreached people groups. As George Wilson put it, "Don't wonder whether you have a call to go. Have you had a distinct call from Christ to stay at home?"
The reality of the Gospel is that Jesus calls us to give up everything to follow Him. Yet this seems so foreign to us. Somewhere along the line we have made a Jesus that looks like us and and who encourages our life styles because, "We were born like that." Sorry to say...that isn't the Jesus of the Bible. If we choose to accept His death and resurrection we are choosing to become like Him, to die to everything that we know (Luke 14:26-27.) We take on a new character (Romans 12:2). His character isn't one that is so emotionally wrapped up in football games or tele novelas. No! It is one whose heart breaks at the fact that while we are caught up in our superficial entertainment millions go to hell, separated from God forever.
The realization and furthermore, the implementation of this truth will require a paradigm shift from all that comes natural to us. The rejection of our old ways is painful and frightening. It is a tiresome road that no one can travel for us. Yet it is one filled with the joy of becoming more like Christ. We were never promised ease. Thankfully Jesus wasn't daunted by the road ahead of Him. Think of it, if He hadn't died for you...where would you be today?
Die to yourself.
