Post by Josh on Oct 6, 2007 16:34:41 GMT -8
Aliens and Strangers: How Not to Fit in With the Culture Around You
Our Time is Not Our Own- An "Trailer" for our Study in 1 Peter
1 Peter 1:13-19, 2:11-12
13Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
17Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. 18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.11Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
What might it mean to be aliens and strangers, based on these verses?
One key facet: Ownership. The above passage says that we have been purchased/ redeemed by Jesus' blood. That implies a change of ownership. What does that mean for us?
First, some important principles from Scripture:
2 Cor. 5:13-15
13If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
Galatians 2:20
20I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Romans 14:7-8
7For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
We no longer belong to the world, and, more importantly, we no longer belong to ourselves. We belong, in our entirety, to God, because of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf.
This means, among other things, that all of our time, all of our money, all of our resources, talents, and opportunites belong to God. They are not things we reserve or retain the right to control. In dying with Christ, we are to lay down our right to parcel those things out as we choose. God has bought us, at a high price, and we are now His to do with as He sees fit.
Do you see how radically different this perspective is to that of our culture? How different it is to almost every other culture in the world period? Even in the best of examples, though sacrifice of time or money or resources might be stressed, the way of the world is to reserve for ourselves the control and the ownership of all that is perceived to belong to us. But that isn’t how we are to live out the good news of Jesus.
I want to focus on time particularly today. As I said, we’re used to parceling out our time as we see fit. When it comes to time spent for the Kingdom of God, I’m afraid we tend to think of it as time we have tithed to God.
But the reality of God’s call, over and over again throughout the New Testament is that all our time belongs to God. It’s a bit scary if you think about it. Just consider that for a moment without qualifying the statement in your mind in any way. That’s pretty radical.
I want to propose that we need to start asking ourselves a different set of questions when we are thinking about the time we have been given. If we’re thinking about our time at all, I think the typical question we might ask from a worldly-wise perspective would be, “Is this [whatever I’m considering doing] a reasonable use of my time?”
That question makes a lot of sense. In our culture I think that would be a pretty exemplary question to ask when trying to sort out our busy lives.
But that isn’t the first question we should ask as followers of Christ. The fact is that what God wants to do with our time might not seem reasonable to us at all. Think of how the apostles spent their time, think of other great examples from Church history of men and women who followed the call of God? How often was that call reasonable?
No, the first question we should ask is, “God, how should I use the time you’ve given me?”
So, does this mean we should always be asking God before every decision we make? That sounds neurotically excessive.
Well, I don’t think we are intended to always be formally asking God’s will before every decision we make. I think God intends that our lives and our wills and our inclinations be in tune enough with His that it becomes an intuitive thing for us. But, since we are so radically influenced by the world’s view of the ownership of our time, I think it might be good to take a week or two and seriously, almost obsessively, ask God moment by moment what we should be doing.
Does always seeking to spend our time on God’s priorities mean that we never rest, never have ‘down time’, never have fun? Well, what example do we see in Christ? Jesus himself had to flee from the crowds who demanded service of Him night and day. Jesus had time for wedding parties (actually all sorts of parties). You don’t get labeled a glutton and wine-bibber for nothing.
I think we’re afraid of surrendering our time to God because we think deep down that He doesn’t care at all about our happiness or our health. But that’s simply not true. Getting familiar with the voice of the Holy Spirit teaches us that He wants what’s truly best for us at all times- whether that means hard work one moment, and enjoyment of the gifts he has given us the next. Sometimes God surprises us in the midst of work and tells us, “take a break”, “enjoy your family or friends right now”, “just read that book” or “go golfing”.
But the main thrust of what I’m saying here is that we need to let God into every area of our lives- let Him be the reason we spent our time on anything. Whatever we’re doing, He should be there with us.
Though God wants us to have times of rest, I don’t doubt that if we attempt to think this way that we will meet challenges. We cannot fool ourselves into thinking that following God doesn’t entail intensive sacrifice and even suffering. Our study of 1 Peter will bear this out—but it will also show us why it is all worth it.
So, for now, ask yourself, what do I have to lose in giving up my rights to my own time? What do I have to gain from letting Christ be at the center of the decisions I make about my life?
Our Time is Not Our Own- An "Trailer" for our Study in 1 Peter
1 Peter 1:13-19, 2:11-12
13Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
17Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. 18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.11Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
What might it mean to be aliens and strangers, based on these verses?
One key facet: Ownership. The above passage says that we have been purchased/ redeemed by Jesus' blood. That implies a change of ownership. What does that mean for us?
First, some important principles from Scripture:
2 Cor. 5:13-15
13If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
Galatians 2:20
20I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Romans 14:7-8
7For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
We no longer belong to the world, and, more importantly, we no longer belong to ourselves. We belong, in our entirety, to God, because of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf.
This means, among other things, that all of our time, all of our money, all of our resources, talents, and opportunites belong to God. They are not things we reserve or retain the right to control. In dying with Christ, we are to lay down our right to parcel those things out as we choose. God has bought us, at a high price, and we are now His to do with as He sees fit.
Do you see how radically different this perspective is to that of our culture? How different it is to almost every other culture in the world period? Even in the best of examples, though sacrifice of time or money or resources might be stressed, the way of the world is to reserve for ourselves the control and the ownership of all that is perceived to belong to us. But that isn’t how we are to live out the good news of Jesus.
I want to focus on time particularly today. As I said, we’re used to parceling out our time as we see fit. When it comes to time spent for the Kingdom of God, I’m afraid we tend to think of it as time we have tithed to God.
But the reality of God’s call, over and over again throughout the New Testament is that all our time belongs to God. It’s a bit scary if you think about it. Just consider that for a moment without qualifying the statement in your mind in any way. That’s pretty radical.
I want to propose that we need to start asking ourselves a different set of questions when we are thinking about the time we have been given. If we’re thinking about our time at all, I think the typical question we might ask from a worldly-wise perspective would be, “Is this [whatever I’m considering doing] a reasonable use of my time?”
That question makes a lot of sense. In our culture I think that would be a pretty exemplary question to ask when trying to sort out our busy lives.
But that isn’t the first question we should ask as followers of Christ. The fact is that what God wants to do with our time might not seem reasonable to us at all. Think of how the apostles spent their time, think of other great examples from Church history of men and women who followed the call of God? How often was that call reasonable?
No, the first question we should ask is, “God, how should I use the time you’ve given me?”
So, does this mean we should always be asking God before every decision we make? That sounds neurotically excessive.
Well, I don’t think we are intended to always be formally asking God’s will before every decision we make. I think God intends that our lives and our wills and our inclinations be in tune enough with His that it becomes an intuitive thing for us. But, since we are so radically influenced by the world’s view of the ownership of our time, I think it might be good to take a week or two and seriously, almost obsessively, ask God moment by moment what we should be doing.
Does always seeking to spend our time on God’s priorities mean that we never rest, never have ‘down time’, never have fun? Well, what example do we see in Christ? Jesus himself had to flee from the crowds who demanded service of Him night and day. Jesus had time for wedding parties (actually all sorts of parties). You don’t get labeled a glutton and wine-bibber for nothing.
I think we’re afraid of surrendering our time to God because we think deep down that He doesn’t care at all about our happiness or our health. But that’s simply not true. Getting familiar with the voice of the Holy Spirit teaches us that He wants what’s truly best for us at all times- whether that means hard work one moment, and enjoyment of the gifts he has given us the next. Sometimes God surprises us in the midst of work and tells us, “take a break”, “enjoy your family or friends right now”, “just read that book” or “go golfing”.
But the main thrust of what I’m saying here is that we need to let God into every area of our lives- let Him be the reason we spent our time on anything. Whatever we’re doing, He should be there with us.
Though God wants us to have times of rest, I don’t doubt that if we attempt to think this way that we will meet challenges. We cannot fool ourselves into thinking that following God doesn’t entail intensive sacrifice and even suffering. Our study of 1 Peter will bear this out—but it will also show us why it is all worth it.
So, for now, ask yourself, what do I have to lose in giving up my rights to my own time? What do I have to gain from letting Christ be at the center of the decisions I make about my life?