The other morning I was walking on the golf course like I do most mornings. As I turned around a little bend, there was an armadillo about 20 yards ahead of me, eating and not noticing me at all. As I came closer, he heard me. He turned and looked at me and tried to decide if I was friend or foe. He must have decided not to take any chances. He slinked closer to the woods and then darted into them. I wanted to follow him, but they were dense and with my history of bug bites followed by emergency room visits, I decided to leave him alone.
My world is out in the open, on the golf course that people made, and where people can generally be found. His world is in the woods hidden away from people and other creatures that mean him harm. When he was out in the open, he was in my world and uncomfortable there. His sanctuary is the protection of the woods. Had I crossed the threshold into the woods, I would have left my own sanctuary and entered the world where bugs and snakes bite, and unseen danger lurks all around. Which got me to thinking…
Why is it so hard for us as Christians to live in our world? It’s because this world is filled with sin, and opportunity for sin abounds. Like the armadillo out in the open, or me in the woods, it’s uncomfortable and unnatural for Christians to live in a world that does not fit Christ’s desire for our holiness. That’s why 1 Peter 2 says that we are “strangers and aliens in this world”, and encourages us to “abstain from fleshly lusts that wage war against our souls.” Is it hard to do abstain from fleshly lusts? Of course it is. Sin is fun for a time. Fleshly lusts are enticing. They are not just sexual in nature. They can be anything that exalt ourselves or give us pleasure at the expense of God’s standard of holiness. It’s hard to live in this world as Christians because we are bombarded by the opportunity to gratify ourselves with fleshly lusts.
That’s why Hebrews 13:14 says, “This world is not our permanent home, we are looking for a home yet to come.” Why is it that though we live here, we feel the tug in our hearts that this world is not all there is, that there is a better place that awaits us? It’s because somewhere in the depths of our souls, we Christians know that this world is not our ultimate home. We know that Jesus is preparing a place for us so that where He is, we will be also (John 14:2-3). One day, we will inhabit that dwelling place that the Lord has prepared for us. As Paul said in Phil 3:20, “Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
As we live in this world, we will be tempted every day to accept what it offers. Not a day will pass that we will not have the opportunity to indulge in every manner of sin. As this world falls further and further into moral decay, we must “walk in a manner worthy of our calling.” (Eph. 4:1), and “not to go on presenting the members of our body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but as instruments of righteousness to God.” (Rom. 6:12-13). We CAN do this with the Lord’s help by the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9-12). We CAN resist the temptation to sin (1 Cor. 10:13). We CAN live in this world and not become part of it. (1 John 2:15-16)
That armadillo could visit my world for a short time. And I may have been able to follow him into his world for a minute or two. But we can’t live in each other’s world. Sooner or later, we’ll get hurt if we try to live in the other’s world. The same is true of disciples of Christ trying to live in a sinful world. True disciples of Christ have to avoid the world of sin that tempts us and means to do us harm. For now, this is Satan’s world, and he means to destroy us with the temptations of this world. Be careful to avoid his snares. There’s nothing but trouble ahead when you allow yourself to enter his world.
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