Jesus And Culture Week 1, Devotion 1 “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” John 15:19 If you’re in the US reading this now, you’ve got it pretty lucky. Or, better yet, you’re pretty blessed. After all, when the world rears it’s ugly head and lashes out at you for standing up for your faith, it might cost you some cool points but it doesn’t cost you your life. For many teenaged Christ-followers around the world, taking a stand with Christ means risking their life. The hatred the world shows them is true hate. But does that make the ridicule or the torment you face because of your faith any less real? No. It doesn’t. Here’s the deal: In His sovereignty, God chose for you to be born and raised exactly where you were. He chose this path for you. God chose for you to live where you live because He wanted to you use to impact the culture you’re surrounded by. And if you truly take up His call to be the person who impacts culture, you will most definitely run into the world’s hate. And while it might not be as bad as it is in other parts of the world, it’s still hate. And it still hurts. But if you find yourself constantly on the defense of your relationship with Christ, guess what? You’re doing it right! You’re living your life as a child of God. And by doing so, you’re living exactly as Jesus commanded you to live. Which is a pretty cool place to be. The world isn’t your friend. But that’s OK. God has claimed you as His. And that’s all that matters.
Jesus And Culture Week 1, Devotion 2 “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 1 John 2:15 In your lesson this week, you might have talked about some examples of what it looks like to “love the world.” The purpose of this devotion is to encourage you to pick up this thread and go a little deeper. After all, one of the steps in learning how not to love the world is recognizing what it looks like.
Spend some time today with your eyes wide open, looking around you for examples of how you and others demonstrate love for the world, identifying more with culture than with Christ. Take photographs. Take notes. Draw pictures. Do whatever you have to do to record what you see. Then, spend some time thinking about any areas in your life where you show more love for the world than you do for Christ. Pray to Jesus asking Him to help you see these areas and to give you the strength to turn away from them. Trust Him to be faithful in helping you.
Jesus And Culture Week 1, Devotion 3 “Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.” John 15:20-21 There are moments in your life where you will experience some tough times because you choose to take a stand based on your faith in Christ. Maybe you’ve already experienced this. As we’ve already discussed, this is to be expected. It shouldn’t be something that catches you by surprise. When you find yourself being treated harshly for doing nothing other than trying to live out your beliefs, it’s easy to get angry or upset at the person or people who are making you feel so rough. But if you take a step back for a second and try to understand where these people are coming from, you may actually find yourself feeling compassion for them instead of frustration. Don’t believe me? Take another look at the words Jesus spoke in the verses above. Catch that last part? Jesus gives the reason people sometimes treat you badly just because you are a Christ-follower. Did you catch it? It’s sad isn’t it? People mistreat you because they don’t know God. They don’t know Jesus. They have either rejected God, or have never fully been told of God’s amazing plan to make everything right between Him and humankind. They’re acting out of hate and ignorance. And before you judge them, keep in mind . . . without Christ in your life, you’d be as lost as they are. So next time someone makes you feel small, or stupid, or left out because of your faith in Christ, resist the urge to resent them. Instead, pray that they might come to know Jesus the way you do.