When in Rome …
"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 lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life -- is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever." 1 John 2:15-17
“But Mom!” I exclaimed, “Everyone else has a pair”.
My pleading was in response to my self-described need for a pair of parachute pants. You see back in my day, if you didn’t have parachute pants and a fishnet shirt with no sleeves to wear with it, you just weren’t cool. After all, every kid wanted to look like their favorite rock star; long hair, parachute pants, bandanas, and fishnet sleeveless shirts.
As you might expect my mother’s response was a firm, resounding “No, I don’t care what everyone else is wearing, it’s not for you”.
When you’re 14, logic has no real impact on your life. All you care about is fitting in with those around you and if you’re unable to, life seems unfair. In retrospect however, I can look back and see that my mother gave me a much better gift; the ability to be my own person and feel good about it.
That gift is the groundwork for being able to expand one’s development beyond what the world deems as acceptable into one that has a firm footing on moral and ethical grounds. So many people live their lives in a way that is designed to please those around them without giving a single thought to those higher aspirations which we were certainly created to enjoy. I say enjoy, and when I do, the first thing that comes to mind is a Bible verse that we are all very familiar with “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32). Knowing the Truth, is knowing our Lord Jesus Christ, and in knowing Him we are set free from all those things in the carnal world that bind us, and with that comes a joy that is unfathomable.
Herein lays the simplicity of the Christian life. Our rewards come not by way of what we can accumulate in this life, but what awaits us in eternity with the Lord. To that end, we no longer have to worry about keeping up with the Jones’ (another of my mother’s famous sayings) but live rather according to a different set of rules and expectations which the carnal world cannot control or understand.
That certainly seems easy enough when said, but actions speak louder than words and so many times when we are in Rome, we try to do as the Romans do, which only lends itself to leading us away from Christ. We all know what I am speaking about, those “things” that on the surface make our life easier or bring temporary contentment, but in the long run create a chasm in our relationship with Christ. For instance:
………. And the list goes on.
These examples are just the beginning of what so many Christians fail to understand and that is: The world and the kingdom of God do not align. That is, choices must be made as a Christian that involve decisions as to who we really serve. Do we serve the carnal world and the idols that are impregnated throughout it, or do we serve the one and only God who gives us salvation through His mercy? How many of us have really sat back and pontificated that very question to the point that we can decisively give a coherent answer to it? I say that until we do we cannot truly be in the Body of Christ and conversely begin to reap the benefits that a relationship with Christ will most certainly bring.
For some this is a very trying decision. Asking yourself if you are willing to shun the ways of the world, which will assuredly result in many trying experiences, becomes a very introspective undertaking. No one wants to be that child without the parachute pants, or the odd duck out. But as Jesus illustrates to us in Matthew 25:31-46, there will come a time when the goats and the sheep are separated. Here, decisions that were made while living in this world will affect our living in His world; are you ready for that?
Luckily we have each other as brothers and sisters in Christ to fall upon for guidance and support. When the world makes its many attempts to derail us from our goal, we can look around for that shoulder to lean on. Given that, we should insure that as our shoulders are taken, they should invariably point our brethren in the right direction; straight to Christ. As we work together, showing each other the way, we can attempt to avoid wrong turns, and when they do occur (because they most certainly will), be there as a lantern in the night leading towards the rock of salvation. May I be with you, and you with me, as we journey together, never losing sight of our goal; Christ.
One closing thought. As I think back to those parachute pants; I can’t for the life of me understand why I ever wanted a pair. Thank you Mom for leading the way.
A Brother in Christ,
Mark
"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 lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life -- is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever." 1 John 2:15-17
“But Mom!” I exclaimed, “Everyone else has a pair”.
My pleading was in response to my self-described need for a pair of parachute pants. You see back in my day, if you didn’t have parachute pants and a fishnet shirt with no sleeves to wear with it, you just weren’t cool. After all, every kid wanted to look like their favorite rock star; long hair, parachute pants, bandanas, and fishnet sleeveless shirts.
As you might expect my mother’s response was a firm, resounding “No, I don’t care what everyone else is wearing, it’s not for you”.
When you’re 14, logic has no real impact on your life. All you care about is fitting in with those around you and if you’re unable to, life seems unfair. In retrospect however, I can look back and see that my mother gave me a much better gift; the ability to be my own person and feel good about it.
That gift is the groundwork for being able to expand one’s development beyond what the world deems as acceptable into one that has a firm footing on moral and ethical grounds. So many people live their lives in a way that is designed to please those around them without giving a single thought to those higher aspirations which we were certainly created to enjoy. I say enjoy, and when I do, the first thing that comes to mind is a Bible verse that we are all very familiar with “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32). Knowing the Truth, is knowing our Lord Jesus Christ, and in knowing Him we are set free from all those things in the carnal world that bind us, and with that comes a joy that is unfathomable.
Herein lays the simplicity of the Christian life. Our rewards come not by way of what we can accumulate in this life, but what awaits us in eternity with the Lord. To that end, we no longer have to worry about keeping up with the Jones’ (another of my mother’s famous sayings) but live rather according to a different set of rules and expectations which the carnal world cannot control or understand.
That certainly seems easy enough when said, but actions speak louder than words and so many times when we are in Rome, we try to do as the Romans do, which only lends itself to leading us away from Christ. We all know what I am speaking about, those “things” that on the surface make our life easier or bring temporary contentment, but in the long run create a chasm in our relationship with Christ. For instance:
- Living to gain worldly possessions to the detriment of those around us
- Giving priority to ourselves to the extent that others are neglected
- Comparing ourselves to others or others to ourselves
- Taking the Word of God from the world and not its source (Bible)
- Living in the limelight of the world not in the love of God
- Taking God’s love for granted
- Using the church to promote our own agenda
………. And the list goes on.
These examples are just the beginning of what so many Christians fail to understand and that is: The world and the kingdom of God do not align. That is, choices must be made as a Christian that involve decisions as to who we really serve. Do we serve the carnal world and the idols that are impregnated throughout it, or do we serve the one and only God who gives us salvation through His mercy? How many of us have really sat back and pontificated that very question to the point that we can decisively give a coherent answer to it? I say that until we do we cannot truly be in the Body of Christ and conversely begin to reap the benefits that a relationship with Christ will most certainly bring.
For some this is a very trying decision. Asking yourself if you are willing to shun the ways of the world, which will assuredly result in many trying experiences, becomes a very introspective undertaking. No one wants to be that child without the parachute pants, or the odd duck out. But as Jesus illustrates to us in Matthew 25:31-46, there will come a time when the goats and the sheep are separated. Here, decisions that were made while living in this world will affect our living in His world; are you ready for that?
Luckily we have each other as brothers and sisters in Christ to fall upon for guidance and support. When the world makes its many attempts to derail us from our goal, we can look around for that shoulder to lean on. Given that, we should insure that as our shoulders are taken, they should invariably point our brethren in the right direction; straight to Christ. As we work together, showing each other the way, we can attempt to avoid wrong turns, and when they do occur (because they most certainly will), be there as a lantern in the night leading towards the rock of salvation. May I be with you, and you with me, as we journey together, never losing sight of our goal; Christ.
One closing thought. As I think back to those parachute pants; I can’t for the life of me understand why I ever wanted a pair. Thank you Mom for leading the way.
A Brother in Christ,
Mark