You don’t belong here
‘Just as I do not belong to the world, they do not belong to the world. Dedicate them to yourself by means of the truth; your word is truth. I sent them into the world, just as you sent me into the world. And for their sake I dedicate myself to you, in order that they, too, may be truly dedicated to you.’ (verses 16-19)
Read John 17:12-19
Imagine a place where you yourself are the centre of all things as far as you are concerned, and where almost all your decisions are based on what is best for you; a place where people connive and manipulate to get what they want; a place where it is important to stretch legality to the limit and get away with as much as you can; a place where only the fittest survive; a place where ‘niceness ‘ is often a cover for selfseeking; a place where God is openly or subtly pushed out of the picture.
This, and more, is ‘the world’, as God sees it. Each day you and I live in that world. But we do not belong there. We have been pulled from that world, set aside, dedicated, for another world. And in that world Jesus rules, love and forgiveness reign, others are important for who they are, and God is like sunshine.
As you move out into the world today, I thought it might be helpful to remind you of this. To remind you of who you are not. And to remind you of who, in Jesus, you are.
Lord Jesus, make me daily aware of where I really belong: with you. Amen.
by Bob Kempe, in ‘New Strength for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 1998)
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