In a Foreign World

1 John 4:4-6: "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.  They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.  We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us.  This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood."

A couple of years ago, my mother and father went on a long awaited trip to France and decided that a little linguistic preparation was in order.  My mother went to Barnes & Noble and purchased one of those "Speak French in 30 days" tapes programs.  The first training session (if that's what you could call it) resulted in more laughs than actual words spoken.  They listened to the tapes whenever they were in the car together, with no perceivable growth in either recognition of French or of understanding it at all.  

When the time for the trip approached they resolutely boarded the plane for their adventure.  The laughs they had enjoyed during their linguistic preparation was replaced with the petrified experience of the first 10 minutes after leaving the airport in their rental car as they endeavored to travel from the Charles DeGualle to the French countryside.  They were strangers in a new world.

How easy it is for us to forget that we are to be foreigners in this world but not of this world.  When we hear others speaking the words of the world we feel the need to try to speak their language.  The longer we complacently allow ourselves to be fed food from that which isn't of God, we run the risk of allowing ourselves to be polluted in a way that may cause death.  

We, joint heirs with Jesus, must not underestimate the determination of the Anti-Christ or forget that the world as we know it was given over to him and his evil devices (by God Himself).  If we forget, we are not only aiding and abetting the enemy with complacency but we will also neglect that we should be preparing ourselves for victory -- not our victory but a victory that has occurred through the loving actions of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Thank you to my mother, Teresa, for much of this blog...