Exit, Stage Left

"Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty."
2 Corinthians 6:17-18

Paul is talking to the church in Corinth about being unequally yoked together with unbelievers. Now, before all of you out there who are married to an unbelieving spouse hit the eject button, there is a portion of Scripture just for you. Take a look at 1 Peter 3:1-12. Here, Paul is telling us, that even though we are in the world, we are not to be part of the world. In Numbers 33, when Moses is leading the children of Israel towards the promised land, the LORD spoke and told them to clean house of the pagan peoples living there. This was so that the people of Israel would not intermingle, intermarry, and interfere with their being set apart by God, as an example, as a jewel, to the rest of the world around them. Beloved, that is what we are called to today. To be in the world, but to be separate from the thinking and practices of the world. I am not talking about being so apart from the world that we are just, well, weird or bizarre. I am talking about, and what I believe Scripture bears out, is that we are not to subscribe to the thinking of the world, to not think the way the world thinks, nor practice the way the world practices. It comes down to living a pure life before our God, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Yes, we can live a pure and holy life in this world. But we have to separate ourselves from the world.

Separation is a two-fold process. It is from one thing, and to something else. We are to separate ourselves from the world and the things that go against God's Word and heart and desire for us, and we are to separate ourselves to God Himself, for a life that is dedicated to serving Him. Some people believe that we are to be so separated from the world that we become weird in the eyes of the world, and are become ineffective in the weirdness. Other people believe that we are to blend in so much, that no one can tell that we are Christ followers. The answer lies in what Jesus told His disciples in John 13:35: "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love one for another." It is our love that sets us apart from the world - our love for one another. And not just believers, but love for all people, saved and unsaved alike, keeping in mind that everyone we meet is someone for whom Christ came to die. As we go through our life today, let us look for those opportunities to love someone, because let's face it, there isn't much love out there in the world. When we show love to people, it truly makes us stand out, and shine, as the love and light of Christ goes forth out of our lives and into the world. Let your light shine today.

Don't just eject from the world or your situations. Don't check out of being in the world. Don't opt out. Don't be a Snagglepuss, and "Exit, stage left." Engage the world you live in with the love that Christ gives, and let your light shine. It attracts. It is what sets us apart.