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1999-12-30 - Worlds in Collision
James 4:14 Yet you do not know
what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for
a little while and then vanishes away. (NAS)
Another year draws quickly to a close. I will have seen 40 New Year's
Eve celebrations and yet that seems somehow impossible. We work and plan
and play as if tomorrow will always come. Somewhere in the back of our mind,
we know that is not quite so. It is very hard to think of the brevity of
life when you are holding a newborn baby in your arms, especially when
it is your own. As a teenager, we often think of ourselves as nearly
indestructible. People say, I want to do this and that when I retire, or
when I get a chance. Sometimes that chance never comes.
It is the same with the things the Lord calls us to do. He calls the
world to repentance and salvation. To those of us who have heard and
answered that call, we hear the clarion to grow and learn in this amazing
new life we have been given. Sharing that life is almost unstoppable and
nearly impossible at the same time. The joy we know in Jesus Christ is something
that is often beyond the reach of words to describe. The fear of rejection
or simple uncertainty can keep us from telling someone we know or meet about
that joy. And yet, we must live that joy before the world. They need
us to be ready to share what makes us different with them. If they are honestly
asking, they want to know. They may be a little surprised by the answer,
but that's okay. Just tell them.
There is a line of logic that says Christians are to come out and be separated
from the world (2 Cor 6:17). This is true of "yoking", or being involved
in business or where our reputations are at stake. And yet we must work and
we do not all run our own businesses. We are going to be involved with the
men and women who do not know Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. It is
that simple. We do not have to go out and get drunk with them, and we do
not have to laugh at inappropriate jokes. In that way, we are living separated
lives from the world system. In living a separated life, we may draw some
jeers. Those jeers and taunts are only there because the life you chose to
live makes them uncomfortable. Deep down, they know that the life you are
living is right and they may even want it for themselves. They may be being
drawn by the call of the Master and not know what to do, or simply be afraid
of being different. The natural world is familiar and still it grows darker
and holds less and less allure day by day. The world we live in as Christians
is uncomfortable because it is unfamiliar, but it pulls at the heart and
mind of the one Christ is calling.
The real danger is if our two worlds do not collide. If sparks don't fly
from friction, if our lives are not there showing someone else that there
is a better way, that this life is not a bygone thing of the past, but
a real, vibrant possibility - they will never know. We are all at very
different levels in our walk along the narrow road with Jesus Christ. Some
of us have been walking and learning for a very long time. Others have
been Christians for a long while, but have not taken the time to learn and
to grow. Still others have poorly used their new life in Christ. And still
others are brand new Christians, just starting out. And yet in all of this,
each of us is the best example of Jesus Christ to someone who does not
know Him. That thought may frighten you a bit, but it should not. You are
exactly where you are by God's appointment as this year draws to a close.
The all-knowing Creator of the Universe has you where you are for a
purpose. Trust Him if the opportunity to be a little different or share a
little of the peace and joy you have comes along. It may take a little while,
a few times of extending yourself. But it may surprise you how soon someone
may come back to you and ask for a little more insight into the world in which
you live. Your two worlds will have collided.
Lord Jesus - open our eyes to see where we are and those
around us with Your heart and Your eyes. Amen.
Grace & Peace,
Mike
jmhoskins@gmail.com
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