In the world, but not of the world.

This is a central and defining truth for the Christian life—the call to be a counter-cultural colony of heaven, engaged yet distinct, present yet transformed.

Here is a poem on this sacred tension.

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The Sacred Paradox

You prayed not that You’d take us out, But that we’d live beyond a doubt As witnesses to truth and grace, In every time,in every place.

We walk on earth, we feel its dust, We learn to serve,we know we must. We feel its pain,we hear its cries, Beneath its vast and broken skies.

In the world— You placed us here with purpose clear, To be Your hands,to draw men near. To love our neighbor,do what’s right, And shine as beacons in the night.

As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. (John 17:18)

But we are citizens of another shore, We live by a different,eternal law. Our primary language is love and grace, Our truest home is Your holy place.

Not of the world— Its values shift,its praises fade, It builds its houses on the shade. Its treasures rust,its kingdoms fall, It cannot offer peace at all.

They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. (John 17:16)

So let me be a stranger here, Held by a hope that banishes fear. Let me be known for who I serve, With a devotion I never swerve.

Let me be in, but not of, the fray, A reflection of the eternal Day. To love the sinner,but hate the sin, To bring the outward chaos in…

…And offer peace the world can’t make, For heaven’s and the sinner’s sake. To live a life that seems so odd, Because I’m walking home with God.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Romans 12:2a)

So I will walk this narrow line, And by Your Spirit,I will shine. In the world, but not of it—I’ll be Until Your face I finally see.