I would just point out that as Christians “We are in the World but not of it.” Our commission is to take the gospel to the nations. We share Christ with them and let Him influence the people of the World as he see’s fit. We are merely servants of the Lord Jesus Christ who in faith and by grace work in society. We do this by leading those who are moved by the Holy Spirit to a saving knowledge of Christ Jesus and teaching them through the word of God so that they can grow in knowledge of the faith.
As individual Christians we are free to be as connected to this world as we want to be. The Lord gives us ultimate freedom over our lives and allows us to make choices as we will. Bearing in mind that He will also allow us to experience the consequences of the choices we make. If we choose to walk in this life as the Sons of Men do and not as the Sons of God should walk. Then we will likely be unfulfilled in our walk with Jesus.
If we choose to walk in the flesh and not in the Spirit. I am not judging here as I have walked many of the years of my Christian life mostly in the flesh and suffered the consequences of an unproductive Christian life. Oh that I had repented years earlier. Had I walked in the Spirit during that time and allowed God to guide me to walk as a servant of Jesus Christ. Truly being the property of God and travelling through this life with the sole intention of winning souls to eternal life.
A key teaching here is found in Matthew Twenty Four verse Six. “... See that you are not troubled...” In recent times we’ve seen secularism run rampant in our society. LGBTQ, Islam, and of course abortion and euthanasia law reform. Then there is the vaccination uproar and now the Covid 19 lockdown which closely resembles the actions of some kind of a voluntary police state.
I don’t know about you but I find it very difficult to not be troubled by these controversial liberal agendas being waved in our conservative faces. Daring Christians to react so that we can be accused of hate speech.
So how can we not be troubled in the face of all of this touble. Jesus said “...see that you are not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet...” I guess the answer has to be found in living your life in the Spirit and not in the flesh. If we sow to the flesh then we are inclined to act in the flesh. If we watch the news and allow ourselves to be frightened by it we are tempted to lash out in a worldly manner. Saying things and acting out of fleshly pride as though we can control the world in and of our own power. This is fighting the devil on his own terms. He owns the battle field and makes the rules. He owns the politicians, the media and has the power to make Christians look like guilty terrorists.
Now our Lord told us first that we are not to be troubled for these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet! Then he told us of the very troubling things that would happen to Christians as the events of the End Times begin to unfold. So He would not tell us “see that you are not troubled.” if it was impossible for us to be anything but troubled. He knew that the Holy Spirit would be with us and he knew that if we in faith placed our trust in Him we would know that regardless what happens. He is with us and we do not need to worry. So when we find ourselves in very troubling times we need to put the flesh away from us and all manner of pride. We need to be humble, be prayerful, read the word of God and seek to walk in the Spirit. We need to ask the Lord for the words and seek his guidance in all of our actions.
Finally as Christians, we need to be salty and put forward a righteous point of view but not be upset if this world doesn’t thank us for our opinion. The evil one and his followers are on the ascension at the moment but they know their time is short. Our job is as always to share the gospel and be as Christ to those around us. Help those in need and befriend those in need of genuine friendship. Show the love that our Lord and Savior has for all who would hear His voice and respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Let the light of our Lord shine through us and show the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. Let love, joy and peace define us as Christians. Love your neighbour as you love yourself and all the while as you love the Lord your God with all of heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.
Reference List
Matthew Chapter 24 verse https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+24%3A+6&version=KJV 27.04.20
