SET APART

As followers of Christ we are called to be set apart. However, in today's world with all the things happening around us it can be hard to tell the difference between those who profess Christ and those who are of the world. We have allowed the enemy to use the internet and world events to cause divides. We have become reactive beings who no longer see things through a spiritual lens and are being led astray by our emotions. Instead of reflecting Christ, our lives look more like the world. Instead of living peaceably among one another and loving others more than ourselves, we choose revenge, hatred, foul language, and boast in all the ungodly things we are called to oppose. In this blog post we will take a look at how God expects his children to show up in this fallen world.

We will start with one of the most popular verses, Romans 12:2 where we are instructed “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”. Paul clearly states that we as followers of Christ should look nothing like the world. We have been called to let the light of Christ shine in our lives and use that light to transform the culture of the world. We know that darkness can’t remain when light enters, but when light is snuffed out darkness overtakes the room. Sadly, this is becoming the reality we see because the church is allowing their light to be dimmed in fear of not being accepted by the world. Imagine how the world we live in would look if every follower took this instruction to heart and allowed their light to shine in a way that darkness had nowhere to hide. The changes we could see in our homes, neighborhoods, schools, cities, and states if we abided fully by God's word.

Let’s now take a look at the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:24-30. In this parable a man goes and sows good seed, but while he is sleeping the enemy comes and sows tares among the good wheat. When the wheat sprouted so did the tares. The servant of the owner asks if he wants to remove the tares from the wheat and the owner responds to allow them to grow amongst each other because pulling up the tares would also cause some of the wheat to be pulled up along with them. To sum it up this parable is demonstrating that the good wheat is the church and the tares are the people of the world. Notice that Jesus is pointing out how we must live among those of the world, yet he expects us to remain righteous and pure not resembling the world. The parable ends with him explaining that we will remain amongst the world until Christ returns to reap us from among the tares (the world). We hold a special responsibility in that our lives should be filled with love, kindness, hope, and light that draws the nonbeliever to us.Our lives should make them curious of what gives us such hope in such a broken society that we always have opportunities to share the gospel of Christ with them. Unfortunately, when they see us they see dishonor, combativeness, gossiping spirits, untrustworthiness, greed, pride, and so many other traits of the world. They don’t see the spirit of God at work in us, instead they just see another Christian living hypocritically and we have wasted another opportunity to spread the gospel to a soul searching for more. 

Lastly, we will look at John 17:16,18 that states “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” Another reminder that we are not of the world and should not resemble it. I love how Jesus makes it clear that we have been sent into the world. That means we have been put here with a divine assignment, that assignment being to live in a way that reflects Christ and to spread the gospel to all who will hear. We can’t do that when we are bickering, chasing worldly success, and dividing ourselves from one another. The church is stronger together and unstoppable when we align ourselves with the word of God. 

I hope this blog post has brought conviction to your spirit if you found that your lifestyle currently resembles worldly values. This blog post is not to condemn, but to make us more aware of our lifestyles and bring us back to the place God has called us to. I myself have fallen into the traps of the world at times and it is by God’s grace that he calls me back through conviction. The enemy is getting louder and we as the church have to be louder. We must be serious about our faith walk. There are so many lost souls looking for answers and we need to be ready to share the gospel, but how can we do that if our lives look the same as those who are lost. I want to encourage you to pray and  ask God to help you remove all likeness of the world from your life. Ask him to replace it with the things that honor and bring him glory. I’ll be praying that same prayer with you and for you. 

Written By: Amber Alycee

Photo Attribution: 

<a href="https://www.vecteezy.com/free-photos/standing-out-from-the-crowd">Standing Out From The Crowd Stock photos by Vecteezy</a>