"In It, Not of It" December 27 Readings: Zechariah 9-10, Revelation 18, Psalm 147:15–20, Proverbs 31:19–21

Today's Readings - Zechariah 9-10, Revelation 18, Psalm 147:15–20, Proverbs 31:19–21

Devotional 

There are a lot of things in this world that I care about, perhaps too many. I have a job and a writing hobby (it is a little more than that). I'm trying to get some things set up for next year. You might know that I have moderate (?) interest in sports as the baseball hot stove is warming up and the NFL playoffs are about to start. There are politics and economic matters that garner my attention. I have the cutest grandkids in world history (we will not argue this because I am right). 

Yesterday, we read about "Babylon the Great" - not great in any good sense. She is the world's system of evil which stands in opposition to God and his kingdom. God works to bring that system down. In Revelation 18 we see the ultimate downfall of system as God brings her crashing to nothing. All of man's power, his wealth, his wisdom, his armies, and his greatness is brought low in an instant. In an instant, Babylon falls once and for all. There is an expiration date on this world in which we live.

Then, John gives this admonition, in Revelation 18:4

Come out of her, my people,
so that you will not share in her sins
or receive any of her plagues.

That is the eternal struggle for us as believers. We must "come out of her" and yet our address is downtown Babylon. Some have tried to take this command literally. In the post-apostolic days, monastic monks went into the wilderness to "come out of" the wicked world. They left it behind and engaged in prayer and other spiritual pursuits, totally disconnected from the world. Today, some Christians try to cut the world out of their lives completely. The problem is that we are supposed to make disciples and it is hard to do if we treat the world like an Ebola virus we are trying to avoid.

The old saw says that we are to be "in the world but not of the world." I will buy that. But that is easier to say than to do. How do I balance my loyalty to the kingdom of God and my interests in what is going on in Babylon? Was I wrong to watch Star Wars? (Twice?) Should I disconnect my cable and internet and seek a modern version of the monastic life? How do I love the Yankees without that love becoming idolatrous? Can I hate the Red Sox and the Patriots and the Alabama Crimson Tide without sinning (I am convinced the answer is yes)? How engaged in Babylonian politics should I be as a citizen of heaven? There are more questions to ask than I can answer.

The key, of course, is in my heart (and yours). Where is my first love? What is my highest passion? I do not believe God minds me enjoying my life. A good meal. A fun time. A good book or a good movie. But he must be my passion, my ambition, my desire. When my heart turns to Babylon, I must heed verse 4 and "come out of her." And I must remember to invest my heart, my passions, and my life in those things that are eternal.

Father, may your Son be my driving passion every day. May the things of earth grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. 

Think and Pray

Is your life invested in the things that are eternal or in that which will pass away?
Are you "in the world but not of it?"
Think through what that might mean in your life.