"sent into the world"
John 17:18
Okay, now this is either gonna fascinate you or horrify you. You'll either be inspired, or you'll have the heebie-jeebies. Or maybe both....
We are compared to many things in Scripture. We are often called sheep, but we are also compared to a worm, a branch and salt.
Well, today my Awesome Girl (who'd been watching Animal Planet, as you could probably guess...) told me about an intriguing creature that I think is a wonderful illustration of how we are to be, on this earth. It's called the Diving Bell Spider, and it lives its entire life underwater. It breathes oxygen, but lives underwater.
How does it do this? It builds itself a little bubble (its "bell") which contains the oxygen it needs to live. And it does that by surfacing frequently, and getting oxygen, then bringing it down to add to its bubble, building it little by little.
How does a creature live in an environment that's not meant for it? In an environment that deprives it of what it needs to live? Because it's protected. The spider might be in the water, but it's in oxygen, in the water.
While Jesus was on earth, He prayed to His Father in heaven, "I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world." (John 17:15-16)
We are in the world, but we are not to be of the world. And how do we do that? The same way the spider does. Get what you need from above, and surround yourself with it. And the secret to that is John 17:17, one of my favorite verses. Jesus continues His prayer, "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your Word is truth."
If we surround ourselves with Him, we will not only thrive in this environment, we will be a blessing to others.
~ "As You sent Me into the world,
I also have sent them into the world" ~
John 17:18
No comments:
Post a Comment