Living in the World

Introduction

Abraham has now been established in this new land. He’s been here for almost 30 years at this point and God has given him the promised child. He is finally getting to put down roots, as much as a nomad is able to, in this new land. And yet, he is still living among his neighbors as a stranger and a sojourner.

While God is going to give this land to his descendants as an inheritance, Abraham probably still feels like a stranger. And this paradox of both having a home here and being a stranger is the existence of all of us today too. Yes, God has placed us here in this place, in Socorro, NM, USA. We are in one sense citizens of New Mexico USA. We are New Mexican Americans. And yet, for those in Christ, this is not our primary citizenship. We are first and foremost citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven who are passing through this land as strangers and sojourners because when all is said and done, this is not where we will spend the majority of our lives, even for those of us who grew up here and will die here, this is not really your home.

1 Peter 2:11 ESV

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

Like Abraham, we are making our temporary home here as sojourners and exiles. The question is what is our relationship to the world around us if we are simply passing through waiting for our true eternal home?

Do we cut ourselves off from everyone else to keep ourselves pure and holy like many churches and religious groups have done? Or do we fully embrace our identities as Americans and as New Mexicans and do as they do? When in Rome…? What is the answer for us?

Read Genesis 21:22-34

Genesis 21:22–34 ESV

At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, “God is with you in all that you do. Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my descendants or with my posterity, but as I have dealt kindly with you, so you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned.” And Abraham said, “I will swear.” When Abraham reproved Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech’s servants had seized, Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, and I have not heard of it until today.” So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant. Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart. And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” He said, “These seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand, that this may be a witness for me that I dug this well.” Therefore that place was called Beersheba, because there both of them swore an oath. So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God. And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines.

Abraham had to learn how to live in relation with the world around him while not going back and becoming like the world around him. He had to learn how to display God’s glory in His life, to live in peace and submission to his neighbors, and yet still remain completely devoted to God and His Will.

Shine the Light of Christ in Your Life

First, if we are going to live in the world as God calls us to, we must let the goodness of God shine in our lives.

This is what is happening with Abraham. We have seen God demonstrate His grace and mercy towards Abraham in many ways.

God has called Abraham out of the land of the Chaldeans.

God led Abraham to this new land and has established him and made him flourish

God demonstrated His power through Abraham as he went to the rescue of Lot against the oppressive power of the four kings.

God even demonstrated His holiness in spite of Abraham’s deceit to Abimelech in chapter 20.

And we have seen God’s grace given to Abraham through the birth of his son, Isaac.

In spite of Abraham’s failings, God’s power has been on display in Abraham’s life in a way that is undeniable to the people around him.

And Abraham could have tried to keep all this private, yet he did not as evidenced by what is going on here. God’s works and blessings in Abraham’s life was evident to those who lived around him.

Are you allowing God’s blessings to be evident in your life to those around you? Do others see in you a difference that could not be found without Christ working in your life?

We are called to show forth and reflect the goodness and glory of God in our lives.

We are also called to show forth the glory and holiness of God in our faith fueled obedience so others can see our good deeds and give glory to our Father in heaven.

We might be tempted to try and hide what God is doing in our lives out of fear of what others might think.

There can be fear that others will degrade us or attack us because of God’s presence in our lives, which is surely a possibility.

But Christ tells us in Matthew 5:14-16

Matthew 5:14–16 ESV

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

This is also what Peter was encouraging us to do when he called us sojourners and exiles:

1 Peter 2:11–12 ESV

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Of course, We might also be afraid of how we have failed in the past to keep others from knowing who we are.

Most assuredly Abraham did not always reflect God’s character well, as we look back at chapter 20.

But instead of hiding what God is doing because of our failures, shining our light is the ability to own our failures and to highlight God’s mercy and grace in our lives and to offer that same grace and mercy to those around us.

We can shine our light both by seeking to do good to those around us AND by being honest and repenting for when we fail.

Abraham was able to build a mutual love and respect with Abimelech in spite of his own failures in the past because he was able to humble himself to agree to not deceive again and to love his neighbor now.

Seek Peace When You Can

Seek Peace by Working with Your Neighbor for Their Good

What we see next is that not only does Abimelech see God’s power and blessing in Abraham’s life, he wants to work with Abraham for the good of both Abraham’s family as well as his own family and kingdom.

Abraham accepts this offer and promises to deal with Abimelech kindly and fairly. Abraham is seeking peace with those who are around him.

Note: This does not mean that Abraham and Abimelech agrees on every issue or how every issue should be dealt with.

Seeking peace and respect does not mean that you are agreeing on everything.

It simply means that Abraham is promising to work for the good of all those around him to the best of his ability.

In the same way, just as we are called to be salt and light and to demonstrate God’s goodness to those around us, we are also called to be peacemakers.

Matthew 5:9 ESV

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

If Christ has saved us, then we should be concerned for the good of those around us. It doesn’t matter if the people you live around look like you, think like you, are of the same age or generation as you, have the same religious worldview as you, or are of the same political party as you.

If Christ has brought His peace to you and to me, then we are called to seek the peace of those around us because Christ has brought His peace to you.

Romans 12:18 ESV

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

This was God’s message to the Israelites before they were taken into captivity into Babylon. They were going into a hostile place where the people around them have a vastly different religion and worldview than the Israelites did. And yet, God told them through Jeremiah, Jeremiah 29:7

Jeremiah 29:7 ESV

But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

1 Peter 2:13–17 ESV

Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

We should want to see our community and our neighbors flourish and receive God’s good blessings on their lives.

How do we do that?

As Christ followers, we need to be involved in the life of our community.

We need to lovingly respect our leaders, our bosses, our professors and teachers, and our parents, even when we greatly disagree with them.

Most of all, we need to pray for our community, for our leaders, and especially for our neighbors. Pray that they would be open to the grace of God in their lives and that they might hear the good news of the Gospel if they do not already know it. Pray that God might open up opportunities for conversation with them so you can bring them the greatest peace that can only come by faith in what Christ has done.

Seek Peace by Standing for What is Good and Right

But seeking peace does not always mean keeping the peace.

We are not called to be peacekeepers. We are called to be peacemakers.

To be a peacemaker means sometimes confronting what is wrong so the right can prevail and people can truly flourish.

We see this with Abraham and Abimelech in this account too.

After agreeing to work for the common good with Abimelech, Abraham called attention to some wrong that had taken place concerning a well he had established and how it was taken by Abimelech’s servants.

Abraham wanted to make a true peace with Abimelech, not keep a false peace, so he informed him of a wrong that had taken place. And Abimelech was not aware of it so this information allowed him to take action to correct the wrong that was done.

And to show that Abraham was committed to peace, Abraham made an oath to Abimelech by offering his own sheep and oxen to Abimelech. And then he gave Abimelech seven ewe lambs as a purchase price for the well that he himself had dug. This is what Beersheba could mean, “well of seven” or “well of the oath.” Either way, this place was a memorial to the peace that Abraham was committed to making with Abimelech.

We are not called to simply keep peace with those around us. We do this when we let issues fester below the surface without talking about what is wrong.

We might have what looks like peace, but inwardly it creates resentment and hostility which will end up with a greater sense of brokenness and hurt.

Keeping peace because of fear of confronting wrongs is no peace at all.

We in the church are called to make peace with one another. Christ commands us that when someone hurts us, we are to take that hurt to them and let them know. They will never be able to fix it if we do not give them a chance to fix it. And we end up breaking fellowship simply because we tried to keep the peace rather than make peace.

But we are also called to make peace with those outside of the church as well. Be willing to listen to others when they inform us of how we might have hurt them and be willing to be gentle but honest when you have been hurt. Give others a chance to make things right with you.

And in the public sphere, we are called to make peace when wrongs and injustice are being committed.

We need to stand for the right for the poor and the oppressed and the vulnerable.

If someone you know is being abused, make peace by seeking to bring them help and protection.

Stand up for the right of the unborn. Seek to minister to women who are lost and alone and contemplating a decision that might end the life of their child. Seek to pray with those and over those at abortion clinics. Seek justice for the most vulnerable in our communities.

Submit to and Worship Only Christ

We Must Remain Different from the World

But here’s the rub. Many times we think in order to love the world, we just have to become like the world and affirm everything the world wants to believe.

This is not what God called Abraham to do.

After the agreement between Abraham and Abimelech, Abimelech and Phicol went back home. And what does Abraham do?

He worships the LORD. He planted a tree, which in all the places of significance and memorials, there has been a tree to remind Abraham of what the LORD has done for Him.

But Abraham does not conform to Abimelech’s image. He continues to be transformed into the image of Christ.

We are called to live in peace and submission to the world as much as we possibly can. But we are not called to adopt their lifestyles, their worldviews, their beliefs.

While we live in the world, we are also called to be separated and set apart from the world.

We Must Seek to Trust and Worship Christ Alone

Which means we are called to trust and worship Christ alone.

Though we live in the world, we ultimately belong to Christ. Because of what Christ has done for us, He is the only One worth of worship and of our trust.

Abraham knew this. He knew that God alone was the One True God because God has demonstrated His love and power in Abraham’s life time and again.

Because of what Christ has done for us on the cross and through His resurrection, He has demonstrated His love and power in our life and has demonstrated that He alone is worthy of our worship.

We cannot make peace and submit to others when it conflicts with our relationship with Christ. If we are truly going to shine the light of Christ and bring peace to the world around us, we must remain true and faithful to Christ.

Matthew 5:13 ESV

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

If we are going to be of any earthly good to those around us, we must be like salt, a preservative, slowing the decay of sin and rebellion in our world around us, not adding to it. This is the only way we can truly love the world we live in and bring the peace it so longs for.