DAILY DEVOTIONAL – October 2, 2019
“A Perfectly Wrong Fit”
Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are the Light of the world and the only way to salvation. We humbly pray, through Your grace and forgiveness, that Your Light would even shine through the words of our mouths and the works of our hands. Amen.
Scripture: John 15:18-19
18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.19 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.”
Devotional: “A Perfectly Wrong Fit”
The other day I was unpacking some supplies needed for our contemporary worship band. This particular item we needed came in several pieces, all packaged together very neatly and compactly in one larger box. Each separate piece came in its own separate cardboard packaging, and so one at a time I pulled them out, took off the plastic and removed the styrofoam padding that protected each piece. The original box that everything came in was only about 2 feet by 3 feet in measure, however, by the time I got every piece out of the box and unpackaged, the resulting debris field took up about 3 times more space.
Once I had the item assembled, it was time to clean up my mess. But, alas, no matter how hard I tried to reassemble each box that the separate pieces came in and put them back in the way I found them, they just wouldn’t fit. Somehow all of that stuff fit in the box when I got it, but there was no way it was getting back in the way I found it – if all of it was gonna get in there at all.
In my futile struggle to try and cram everything back into the original box, I couldn’t help but reflect upon the words of our Lord Jesus from our devotional text for today when He says, “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.” Much like the separated pieces of packaging just would never fit the same way back into the original packaging, so to we as believers in Christ, having been reborn and made into a new creation in Christ, no longer fit into this world; into the original packaging we came in. The apostle Paul makes clear in Romans 6 that when we were graciously brought to faith by the Holy Spirit and received the salvation of God in our baptism, we were regenerated. No doubt we still have our sinful nature, the same sin that originally brought ruin not only to ourselves, but also to the perfect creation, or “packaging” if you will, that God originally provided for us. However, by the love of God and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have been given a new heart toward God.
We are at the same time sinful and righteous, and we are at the same time a sinner and a saint. And as long as we live in this broken and sinful world of our own making, that conflict and that tension of being both sinner and saint will not go away. More importantly, it should not go away. Listen carefully to the words of our Lord Jesus and the words of the apostle Paul.
During His High Priestly prayer, before He went to the cross to pay for the sins of the world, Jesus prayed to His Father and prayed for not only His disciples but for all that would come to believe in the Gospel message He sent His disciples to proclaim. Jesus prayed and said in John 17, “14 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. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word.”
Paul, as one of those apostles sent to proclaim the Gospel, said later in Romans 12:1-2, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
You see friends, if we truly are a new creation in Christ, this world is not only not our home but this world is hostile to us. It should not surprise us that we do not understand the wicked ways of the world, it should not surprise us when culture and society expresses a unique and pointed hatred and prejudice against Christianity, and it should not surprise us when we feel as though we don’t belong. I’ll take it a step further and say, because it is what Scripture makes clear, if we do feel comfortable in our skin, if we strive to make a home here and really feel no discomfort because of our faith in Jesus, that’s a problem. It’s a problem either because we have faith and are not following our Lord and His command to proclaim the Gospel of salvation in Jesus, or worse yet, faith itself is in question.
Jesus said in no uncertain terms in Matthew 7, “the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” Of course, Jesus was not saying here that it is hard to be saved, as if God has intentionally put obstacles in our way. Quite the opposite in fact. As Jesus said in Matthew 11, “28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” God has graciously revealed Himself for all to see in Jesus, and has made attaining salvation free and easy by sending Christ to the cross in our place. All that is required is faith. To trust in Christ for our salvation and faithfully praise and follow Him. The road to salvation is hard not because salvation is hard, it is hard because of our sin, and the world’s sin and the hatred the world has for Jesus and for anyone who follows Him. So if we feel as though we fit into the world, then the world does not see us as a follower of Christ.
So it should not surprise us that we hesitate to share the Gospel because we know the trouble it will cause us, but that shouldn’t stop us. It should not surprise us when we fear losing friends or upsetting family or colleagues because we choose to or not to participate in certain activities or behave in certain ways, but it should not stop us. As Jesus said in Matthew 5:16, “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Our only light is the Light of Christ.
In the end my friends, all of us want to fit in. No one likes being an outcast or not “belonging”. We all fail to perfectly live as Jesus did; in unwavering obedience to our Heavenly Father regardless of the cost. We all are guilty of trying to shove a square peg into a round whole. We all have put the wrong things as a priority before our faith and relationship with Jesus, and we have all lived in a way that we shouldn’t for the sake of remaining comfortable in this broken world. That is why we are so thankful for Jesus and His faithfulness on our behalf, and His death and resurrection that have made the Holy Spirit available to us who strengthens us, reassures us and empowers us to celebrate not being of this world – and living in such a manner.
We can’t do it alone, and we have not been left to do it alone. Jesus prayed for you and for me and for all people of faith when He prayed in John 17, “14 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. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” Stay in the Word of God my friends, it is our strength and our shield in withstanding the assaults of this place that is not our home as we endure faithfully to the end.
Take heart and courage my fellow followers of Jesus. Celebrate being the odd man out. Be encouraged by the fact that because of the eternal security that Christ has provided for us in our heavenly citizenship, no amount of hatred from the world can discourage us or disqualify us from winning the race of faith and receiving the reward of the faithful, which is the presence of God in Christ.
Good day everyone, and remember, God has forgiven yesterday, is with you today and has already taken care of tomorrow. Amen.
