Christians have for centuries tried to understand their relationship with the world around them. From the early church period when Roman believers grappled with whether they should attend the Colisium; to twentieth century Christians deciding if they should go to the cinema. From third world disciples of Jesus working through the implications of ancestral worship to technological savvy believers deciding how to use Facebook and Twitter
Jesus said that we are not 'of' the world even as he is not of the world, (John 17:16) the Message translation puts it like this: 'they are no more defined by the world then I am defined by the world.' There seems to be two extreme reactions taken by Christians to this question; firstly to become so involved in culture that there is no discernable difference to the world around. The other extreme would to become so seperate from others that there would be no realistic hope of connection to those around
Christians can be seen to be embedded in the world but pilgrims in culture. We live lives that are fully human; with the same needs of food, water, shelter, relationships, etc as everyone else. However we are not just believers in Jesus but those who have 'Christ in you the hope of glory.' (Colossians 1:27) We are the same as everyone else but also different, we are ordinary but also extraordinary
Perhaps Jesus made it clear for us in how do decide to be in the world but not of the world. He said the following, 'As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.' (John 17:14-18) Living in the world as missionary agents will give us a very different perspective than believing that we are to simply to 'hold the fort for I am coming' to quote the hymn writer. One sees the role of the Christian as those who have a kingdom mission to transform lives, families, communities, nations and all of creation. The other views our role as simply to hang on in the midst of the battle until Jesus returns to take us to heaven
I know which I would rather pursue
