Of
late, my wife and I have been working on memorizing I John, a
worthwhile, but tricky endeavor, as John tends to use repetition with
slight variation as a literary device. While the device is
often very useful in emphasizing a point, it is not nearly as helpful
when memorizing the passage. When we arrived at chapter 3 last
week, we came across a very familiar verse. “Behold what
manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be
called the children of God.” (3:1). What a beautiful
verse about God’s love and the hope we have. But there is a
problem. You see, this is not all that the verse says, and the
second part is a conclusion based upon the first part.
“Therefore the
world does not know us, because it did not know Him.” It is
this thought that particularly stood out to my wife and I when we
started working on that verse.
It
is good and important to know that we are the children of God, but
sometimes I worry that we want to have both. We think that we
can be the children of God and still know the world and be known by
it. We want to fit in. We don’t want to be strangers.
How many of us really want to be the “odd” person in the group?
Many know what it feels like to be the one that consistently does not
fit in, but at the same time, we often consume a great deal of time
and energy in pursuing the things that are “normal” and help us
to fit it, and the reality is that we do it without even realizing
that we do this. In certain ways, we are often unwittingly
products of our cultures.
But
why is it that John says that being a child of God and being known by
the world are mutually exclusive? Why can’t these two go
together. Think of the gospel of John 1:10, speaking of Jesus.
“He was in the world and the world was made by Him, and the world
did not know Him”. Think of what Jesus said to His
disciples. “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a
servant above his master. It is enough for a disciples that he
be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they
have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will
they call those of his household?” (Matthew 10:24-25).
I
think it appropriate then, if I find that I don’t really fit in,
and I find that many actually don’t like me simply because I choose
to follow Christ. I’m not suggesting that I have no
responsibility to treat others well or be gracious and kind and
humble and gentle in spirit. Rather, what I’m suggesting is
that I should not be surprised if I go completely counter to the way
almost everyone around me goes, even many Christians. I know
that sounds offensive to many and at least shocking to others, but
think about what Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord,
Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will
of My Father in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21). Our confession
of faith must be accompanied by faith lived out in action, and that
action ought to make us stand out as a city on a hill or a light on a
lampstand or stars in the clear night sky.
But
here is the catch, we won’t stand out if we look just like the
world! “Do not love the world, or the things of the world, …
for all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of
the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father (whom the
world does not know), but is of the world (I John 2:15-16). So
we must be distinct and so embrace the idea that we will not fit in,
and perhaps won’t be liked either!
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