It is woven throughout the Bible that we are called to make God known and be ambassadors of Him. We are to "be in, but not of" this world. This concept means that we are to be aware of what is happening in the world, but not be influenced or controlled by it.
A great analogy I heard which depicts this perfectly is "living with your Bible in one
hand, and the newspaper in the other." We are to be immersed in the word of God, knowing what it says and applying it to our lives, while also knowing what's happening in the world and seeing the world through the lens of His word.
So, how can we be in, but not of this world?
Strongly abiding in God.
John 15:5 says, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
What we listen to and who we spend time with determines the direction of our lives. So if we are spending all of our time in the world - consuming worldly media, doing what everyone else is doing and finding contentment in what the world tells us to, we are abiding in the world. When we abide in the world, we aren't able to produce spiritual fruit or do anything for Him.
We are called to abide and God. This means spending time with Him, being in communication with Him, and allowing his voice to be the loudest in your life. This also means obeying His commandments, which it says is the testament to someone who abides in God.
John 15:10 says, "If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love."
As we obey God's commandments and bring Him into everything that we do, we become people attached to His vine, which is not of this world!
Allowing Him to work in and through you.
The only way that God can work in our lives is if we let Him in. We need to give him control of our lives, surrender our lives to Him, listen to His guidance and rely on Him more than ourselves.
We know that God has a good and perfect plan for our lives. This can only happen if we allow him to work in and through us.
One way that we can allow Him to work and then throw us is by identifying our weaknesses and relying on His strength. When we feel inadequate for something, or don't know how you can do it - rely on His strength and power to pull you through. For where you are weak, He is strong.
Instead of being discouraged by our weaknesses, surrender them to God and allow God to take full control of it. In this, God can work through you, doing beyond anything that you could ever dream of.
Being educated in and praying for the world.
The only way that we can be in this world is if we know what is going on. We can't be praying and interceding for this world if we don't know what's going on. We can't be a light for the world if we don't know what's going on.
Christians can often end up in a bubble, not really knowing what's going on, and just thinking that life is great. But in actuality, it's not. If we allow ourselves to get into a bubble, we can never be a light to the world, because we are hiding it in the "safety" of our church.
Acts 14:37 says, "For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth."
If we aren't aware of what is going on in the world, we are unable to bring light into that situation, whether that's in physically doing something or praying for it.
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