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In the World, Not of the World
I have an almost four year-old daughter who, for the lack of a better word, is obsessed with
Jesus. Not a bad thing to be obsessed with, right? Her obsession started this fall, then with His birth atChristmas, turned full force. Now she’s asking me Jesus questions, wants to know a lot about his family life, and draws pictures of Him with chalk, crayons and anything else she can get her hands on. It melts my heart, and also brings up a lot of great discussions.
She knows that Easter is approaching. She also knows that at Easter Jesus rose from the dead
after being crucified on the cross, and although she’s still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that Jesus died on the cross instead of just going away from the “bad men” her comments on the crucifixion never cease to amaze me. The pure innocence of a very terrible event. At the end of every Easter book, or right before she opens her white “Resurrection Egg” she always says “It’s okay momma, Him comes back to Earth.”
In John 8:23 Jesus says “You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world.” The truth is that Jesus never belonged to this world- but we do. He never sinned, but we do. How do we live in this world, a world that at times is so full of hate, destruction and lies, and be expected to enter into His world, a world of eternal life and happiness?
Well, He is the answer to that question.
Our reward is not this world, it’s His world, it’s the Kingdom of Heaven. We are all working towards that goal. We are in this world now, but there is more for us as followers of Christ. The worry, he sadness, the despair, it will all fade away when we enter into His world.
Sometimes it’s hard to not become discouraged. Life is hectic, overwhelming and can all feel
like it’s weighing down on you sometimes. I’m guilty of feeling like things are often spiraling out of control, but that’s when I realize that I’m trying to take control, I’m trying to get everything in order by myself, when in reality we are never by ourselves, and subsequently never in full control.
Some days are hard, some days are full of sadness, of pain, but this world is a broken one. We are dealing with the outcome of original sin. I was explaining to my daughter the “why’s” of Jesus dying on the cross. “Why would Him do that momma?” she will ask me. I always answer “for our sins.” To which she stares at me like “are you crazy?” This is why the vocation of motherhood has brought me closer to Christ than anything else. I get to experience our faith all over again, every day, through the eyes of a child who is eager to learn, taking in every single hymn, scripture and verse.
God loved us so much that He had His own son die on the cross for us. For our sins. We all know this, but let that really, truly sink in. When I watch my daughter process that information it almost takes the breath out of me. How amazing is it to be followers of a God who is so loving, so caring, so merciful that dying for us, enduring this indescribable and unimaginable pain for us was something He was willing to do? It’s so amazing. No other way to put it.
We are called to be followers of Christ, Disciples of Christ. We have His teachings to guide us and we know that our reward will be in the Kingdom of Heaven. We cannot let this world take that away from us.
Reflect: With Easter approaching, pray through the Stations of the Cross. Put yourself in the crowd as Jesus walked by holding his cross.
Act: We belong to Jesus, we do not belong to this world. Pray to Jesus to allow full guidance in your life. Especially with something that you have recently been struggling with. Offer that
up to Him.
