You Do Not Belong
“Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so that they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.” - John 17:13-14
As a child of God, I need you to know something: you do not belong in this world. That is because you do not belong “to” the world. You belong to Jesus Christ.
Now, if you are not a believer, then the same is not true for you. You are of this world. You have not been redeemed by Christ (yet) and so you are punished just as the rest of the world is punished.
But when you are His, you have been set free from sin. He has redeemed you and wiped your slate clean. And because we are believers, we should not act as the rest of the world acts. We do not indulge in the same things the rest of the world indulges in. We should be different because we are different. We have been set apart.
John 17:13-14 says, “Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so that they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.”
We have a joy that others can’t have because they don’t share in the hope that we share in. But not only do we share in the hope of Jesus one day returning to us, but we should live in that hope even now.
That is why we must remain obedient to God. You have an obligation as a child of God to remain obedient to Him and not to follow the ways of this world. You cannot live a life doing both. The ways of this world often contradict the teachings of God. You are going to have to make a choice.
And as you consider that choice, really multiple choices that you will have to make on a daily basis, you must remember to whom you belong. You belong to God. You do not belong to this world!
As a child of God, I need you to know something: you do not belong in this world. That is because you do not belong “to” the world. You belong to Jesus Christ.
Now, if you are not a believer, then the same is not true for you. You are of this world. You have not been redeemed by Christ (yet) and so you are punished just as the rest of the world is punished.
But when you are His, you have been set free from sin. He has redeemed you and wiped your slate clean. And because we are believers, we should not act as the rest of the world acts. We do not indulge in the same things the rest of the world indulges in. We should be different because we are different. We have been set apart.
John 17:13-14 says, “Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so that they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.”
We have a joy that others can’t have because they don’t share in the hope that we share in. But not only do we share in the hope of Jesus one day returning to us, but we should live in that hope even now.
That is why we must remain obedient to God. You have an obligation as a child of God to remain obedient to Him and not to follow the ways of this world. You cannot live a life doing both. The ways of this world often contradict the teachings of God. You are going to have to make a choice.
And as you consider that choice, really multiple choices that you will have to make on a daily basis, you must remember to whom you belong. You belong to God. You do not belong to this world!
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