Therefore "Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you." (2 Corinthians 6:17)
Hello chosen ones!
It’s been an interesting time downsizing and purging to fit into our new accommodations. It is amazing to me how much money one has to spend to “get rid of stuff” – from dump runs to dispose of junk we’ve been dragging from house to house, to buying appropriate shelving and storage to put all the junk we decided to keep. While all this is going on, we have decided that our car needs replacing, as moth and rust are starting to get the best of her. So, we have been searching for the right vehicle, not a new one, but a gently used one that will meet our needs. This has not been a fun process as prices are crazy!!! This whole transition experience has been quite challenging, not necessarily because of the obvious things that accompany change, but because I am surrounded by Mennonites riding horse and buggy all around me. As this middle-class North American couple seems to be wrapped up in the capitalistic, consumeristic world that is urban living, I am continually reminded by the “simple folk” that it is possible to live a humble, non-materialistic life in the middle of the chaos. But how! My only comfort to this dilemma of balancing the need to buy with “being content in all things”, is to notice that the Canadian Tire down the road and the Home Depot down the other road have a place to park a horse and buggy. Not even the mighty “be ye separate” Mennonite is spared from the need to frequent the hardware store for the things they need, even want. While at the local Canadian Tire, I was waiting in the checkout line for a Mennonite family buying a $160 dollar tent, I’m sure paying with one-dollar bills (it took forever!) – they don’t use plastic cards. The whole time I’m waiting I was thinking of the three tents I have at home that I never use!!!
For me, one of the hardest things of following this Jesus who had no place to rest His head, and who said to “leave all to follow Him”, is balancing life in an affluent society with so many things that we seem to “need” to survive. Do I really want to ride a horse and buggy in the middle of winter or on sweltering days have no air-conditioned shelter to travel in? As I build a second shed to store my belongings, I am challenged with this continual dilemma of deciding what is essential and what is superfluous. I am thankful for the Word of God that helps me with this problem. The Apostle Paul in 2Corinthians 6:4-10, although he was poor, was rich in what really mattered: “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything” (vs.10). At the end of it all, I know I can take nothing with me. It really does not matter what I own, as long as I possess Christ. I can be the richest man on the planet, but without Jesus I am nothing and have nothing. I am not measured by the things I own, but by Who owns me! I am first and foremost a “servant of God” (vs. 4), willing to let go of everything for the cause of making Jesus known. Do I possess the Christian essentials: purity, knowledge, patience, kindness and love in relationship with Holy Spirit? My greatest possession is the presence of Holy Spirit; actually I can posses Him, but does He possess me so that the above fruit is produced in my life (vs. 6)? I have the word of truth, the power of God, the weapons of righteousness (vs. 7); I have life abundant and everlasting life (vs.9); in Christ I possess all that I need!
There is ultimately no dilemma for I can be in the world but not of the world. While I realize that being in the world requires owning certain things, I also realize that these “things” are just things; they have no eternal value. Everything I need I have in Christ! The admonition of Paul to the Corinthian Church to “come out and be separate” is based on the attitude of the heart. Even though I am in the world and possess some of its goods, the world does not have me, nor own me. My heart and mind, and whole being belongs to God. I know this because He is my Father and I am His son (vs. 18). Furthermore, I have a High Priest who has declared that I am not of the world, and continually makes intercession for me because He is one with me and the Father (John 17). The Godhead is on my side! God is for me and will ensure, as I surrender to Him, that He remains my number one desire. I declare that I am in the world, but not of the world as Jesus has said. I declare that I serve Jesus not my possessions. I declare that I am separate and sanctified unto Jesus and that the only riches that truly matter are the riches found in Christ Jesus (Eph. 3:8,16; Phil. 4:19).
Be blessed!
"Advancing the Kingdom of God by releasing Spirit-filled followers to serve Jesus in freedom and joy."
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