Scripture
14I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. 16They do not belong to this world any more than I do. 17Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. 18Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. 19And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth. John 17:14-19
Observation
Go back and read this chapter again. No, seriously read it as if Jesus is praying directly for you… because He is. In the very next verse Jesus says, “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.” (Jn. 17:20) Everything He was saying and praying here was with YOU in mind! He tells us straight out that we are in the world and not of it. He makes it very clear that we will not be with the cool kids. In fact, not only do we need to stay here, but we will be hated here, and we will never belong here. Encouraged yet? His disciples, His sent ones, are being sent into the world as a sacrifice. Jesus made us holy through His sacrifice, so we could take the truth of this pure love into a dirty world that despises it and yet at the same time longs for it. We have the freedom of forgiveness and are called to show it and share it with a world that could seemingly care less.
Application
Do you remember your first dance? I was in 7th grade and El Camino Jr. High in Santa Maria, California was holding their Spring Fling Dance. I walked in with the coolest outfit I had, a multi-colored striped t-shirt, blue Levi’s and white velcro shoes. I was ready to dance! Then, I noticed something curious. Everyone was lining the walls, girls on one side and boys on the other. The music was pumping, the strobe light was… strobing, and yet, no one was dancing. Why? Because, just like me, everyone was thinking the same thing, “you don’t belong here.” We were thinking that about ourselves and we were thinking everyone else was thinking that about us. Then, finally, some brave souls began to work their way off the walls and on to the floor. Some of the cool kids led the way and the rest of us had a glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, we could belong there too. I was standing with my friends Mark and Brian summoning up some bro courage. Mark was a little shorter than most. Brian was a little taller than most. As for me, well, I was a little heavier than most while simultaneously sporting a mean bowl cut and two left feet. Yet, when Mark and Brian both asked girls to dance and they actually said “yes” and moved to the dance floor, I thought surely I had a shot. The amount of courage it takes for a pimply faced, slightly overweight, 12 year old to go up to a group of girls you don’t know felt akin to climbing Mt. Everest. Yet, there I was, asking a complete stranger with curls if she’d want to dance with me. Her response was a curt and courteous, “No thanks”, while she and her friends looked me up and down emitting some serious “you don’t belong here” vibes. Message given, message received as they promptly closed the circle to continue the important conversation I had so rudely interrupted. I look back on that moment and know that it took everything in me to not just want to walk right out of that stinky school gym. But, you know what? I kept asking. I don’t remember how many rejections I experienced before a girl finally said yes, but I do remember the freedom I had on that dance floor. I think they were playing Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean” and I remember just letting my body move with the music. I’m literally smiling as I write this because I’m 100% sure I looked ridiculous, but 12 year old Jon Burgess didn’t care what anyone else thought. I didn’t even care what the girl dancing with me thought, as evidenced by her quick escape after the song ended. She may have had enough, but I was just getting started. I’m not sure how many songs I danced to, but I had a blast left that dance floor very sweaty and very free regardless of the fact that, to most everyone else, I didn’t belong there. I need that same 12 year old abandon again. I need to stop trying to fit in and get people to like me. I need to stop trying to please people and realize that even though I can’t dance, I am free! Until I die or Jesus comes back, this world is my dance floor and I’m going to keep inviting people into the freedom I know through Christ!
Prayer
What an amazing thought, that You, Jesus, think of me. That You prayed for me then and continue to pray for me. My identity, my security, my self-worth all flows from this beautiful reality that I am Yours and You are mine. This world is dying in sin while calling themselves free. You sacrificed Yourself for them and for me. What the world doesn’t need is a bunch of insecure Christians trying to either fit in or hide away. No, you’ve called us on this dance floor to show what true freedom looks like even through a guy two size 13 left feet!
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