Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Sitting In The World
David Mathis writes @ DG about being "In, But Not Of." He looks at Christ's prayer in John 17:14-19 and notes a few points:
Another way to phrase my question would be to ask if we ever let people get to the starting line? Jesus had to get to thirty. The apostles had time with Christ before they were turned out. And yet as nowadays as soon as some one expresses commitment to the church, we ask them to demonstrate that commitment by bringing others in. Yet I am not sure they are ready. What do we do to prepare them?
More, do we even ask them to die and be resurrected with Christ, or do we just ask them to :take a walk?" Big difference
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- But notice that for Jesus being “not of the world” isn’t the destination in these verses but the starting place....
- Jesus is not asking his Father for his disciples to be taken out of the world, but he is praying for them as they are “sent into” the world....
- Jesus’s assumption in John 17 is that those who have embraced him, and identified with him, are indeed not of the world. And now his summons is our sending — we are sent into the world on mission for gospel advance through disciplemaking. -- Jesus’s true followers have not only been crucified to the world, but also raised to new life and sent back in to free others.
Another way to phrase my question would be to ask if we ever let people get to the starting line? Jesus had to get to thirty. The apostles had time with Christ before they were turned out. And yet as nowadays as soon as some one expresses commitment to the church, we ask them to demonstrate that commitment by bringing others in. Yet I am not sure they are ready. What do we do to prepare them?
More, do we even ask them to die and be resurrected with Christ, or do we just ask them to :take a walk?" Big difference
Technorati Tags:in but not of, evangelsm, maturity
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