Some Christians throughout the centuries have wanted God to take them out of the world. Many Christians have attempted to separate themselves from the world. Some have felt that the world is evil, and we Christians need to be unpolluted by the world. But does the (potentially) healthy concern about being unpolluted require separation? I don’t think so. Actually, it doesn’t seem that Jesus thinks so either.
In the previous post, Jesus already prayed that God will protect his disciples while they are living in the world, so that they might be unified, like our Trinitarian God is unified. That request is loaded with meaning. But hold that thought, because Jesus continues and expands on his request in verses 13-19. Take a look at what he says next:
“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 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. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”
Notice the similarities to what we learned in the previous post? Jesus again prays for his disciples to have the Father’s protection while they remain in the world. He admits that God could take them out of the world. Not a problem for God. It is an option. But Jesus says, “Father, I don’t want you to use that option. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world.”
Interestingly, it seems some Christians disagree with Jesus. Those Christians believe they need to develop their own separate Christian world. They create Christian options for nearly every segment of society. Schools, business, media, food, clothing, nearly everything. Maybe you understand the feeling. We can fear the influence of the world on our lives, and especially on our children’s lives, so we take ourselves out of the world.
I’m not just talking Amish people. There has long been a significant Catholic and Protestant tradition which believes in separateness. Isn’t that what holiness means, they argue? We are called to be holy people in our pursuit of Jesus. So maybe we should be separate from the impurity of the world.
That’s not what holiness means. Holiness doesn’t require Christians to start separate colonies. But what about monasteries where people separate themselves? Good question. Monasteries are a human-made approach to a certain vocation in which people voluntarily give their lives to God. And most monks and nuns are not fully separate from the world. They still interact in the world regularly.
What we need to go back to is the fact that Jesus prayed to God, “Do not take them out.” He didn’t want God to remove people. Instead, he wanted God to protect them in the midst of it. We Christians are to be in the world. We are to live, work and play where people are. In the schools, in the community, in business, in entertainment, in politics, on social media. Anywhere people are, we are there.
Wait. Anywhere? Really. What about places that seemed designed to indulge in unholiness? Each person will need to use wisdom and healthy caution. Christians can choose to separate themselves because they are afraid. Fear is a powerful motivator. Jesus, however, is praying for our protection in the world. We can confidently, not arrogantly, but graciously, live and move and in the world, because we have God’s protection. We are to be his ambassadors in the world, inviting more and more people wherever we find them, to enter his Kingdom. We love others as Jesus did.
This is a prayer request from Jesus to his father about us. It is a prayer request that we would be people on mission. That is a core identity for Christians. People on mission. The mission of God is not just for professional pastors or missionaries. All Christians are on mission, in the world, under God’s protection. What does protection mean? That we will be perfectly safe all the time. No. Protection means God will care for us, walk with us, his Spirit living in us, in the middle of everything, whether good times or difficult. Whether safe spaces or not.
Think about Jesus’ example. Does he only go where it is safe, where it is easy, where it is comfortable? No. Jesus interacts with lepers, prostitutes, and tax collectors. He goes into their homes. He parties with them. His disciples watched him do this. They heard the religious elites accuse Jesus of being sinful. All the while, Jesus remains in community with the disciples. Jesus remains connected to his Father. He shows us how to navigate living in the world, loving all people without fear.
That means we follow the example of Jesus. All people in our society should have the opportunity to experience Jesus’ invitation of love. That will almost certainly mean that we need to go out of our comfort zone to reach them, knowing that God goes with us.
Notice how Jesus emphasizes this in verses 18 and 19. He sends his disciples, and that applies to us. We are sent into the world. That’s the whole world. Not just the places that are easy to go to. Not just the places that we comfortable in.
This is why I am excited that Faith Church is pursuing becoming a Church World Service Welcoming Church. We will be welcoming people who sound different, look different, live different. They might smell different, worship different, and eat different foods. We are sent to invite them to experience Jesus’ love. So we welcome them.
Amazingly, that doesn’t necessarily mean moving international, though it might, and we should all seriously consider it. Keep your heart and mind open.
Sometimes it seems we think God has a phone network, and that only reason we should consider becoming a professional minister or missionary is he calls us. No doubt he could call us to go to Africa or Asia or somewhere else. But does he have to call people to serve as missionaries or pastors? I think he just did. Look at verse 18 again. “I have sent them!” Is Jesus talking about only those original disciples? Maybe. I think we could make a case for that.
But as we’ll see in the next section, it seems clear to me that all of Jesus’ followers are sent. So there. You just got you phone call from God. He is calling you to love all people like he did, which includes inviting them to enter the life of his Kingdom now, just as he invited the people he interacted him.
There are people all around us, all around you. I’m talking about all the people in our communities, in our schools, in our workplaces. I’m talking about friends and family. I’m talking about people we are comfortable with, and people we are not comfortable with. God loves them all. We are sent to live like Jesus among them.
Praise God, as our society is becoming more diverse, many Christians also have the opportunity to welcome people from all over the world who are moving to us, who are becoming our neighbors. We can share the love of Jesus in word and deed to them. This is another reason why it is so exciting how many people from Faith Church have been involved with CV SEEDS, teaching ESL to our neighbors, helping with childcare. It’s been awesome to see the joy of welcoming here.
Finally, in verse 19, Jesus says that he sanctifies himself so that his disciples might be sanctified. The word sanctify refers to being holy. It means that we need not work about being sent into the world, that the world will pollute us, because Jesus himself has worked to sanctify us. We can be holy in the midst of the world.
Again, this requires care and caution. We need people surrounding us, because I’m sure we all know ourselves, how we can allow ourselves to give in to temptation. Look to Jesus. He lived in community with others who were learning from him how to live like him. He was also in regular conversation with his Father. He was not isolated. Not from others, not from God. Likewise, as sent ones, we need others and God to help us remain faithful to the way of Jesus.
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
Engaging Scripture 