Have you ever gotten lost walking around a city and thinking, “I don’t recognize this place; I don’t belong here”? Did you realize that people were looking at you, thinking the same thing: “You don’t belong here”?
I have. Once I was driving in Washington, DC, took a wrong turn, and wound up in a dangerous neighborhood. People were looking at me with unfriendly looks and I suspect probably thinking, “You need to get out of here.” I wasn’t welcome.
In John 17, Jesus says the world hates us because we are not like them. But Jesus doesn’t ask the Father to take us out of the world, but to protect us from the evil one.
“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world” (John 17:14-16 ESV).
Why does Jesus want us to live in a hostile environment—an environment where people hate us because we love Jesus?
We find our answer in Jesus’ love.
Jesus endured tribulation for us
The Bible says in Romans 5:8, “God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (NASB).
That means while I was in rebellion against God, He came to save me. 1 Timothy 1:15 also says that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Jesus came into a hostile environment to save me. I was under a death sentence for my sins but Jesus loved me and rescued me by paying my death sentence. He offered Himself as my ransom. Now Jesus says to go into the all the world and tell other people about Him and make disciples.
We endure tribulation for others
In John chapter 16, Jesus says that we will have tribulation in this world. Our life in this world will be difficult. Why will it be difficult? Because we are opposed by an enemy, the father of lies.
Satan hates us because we have been saved from death and destruction and no longer belong to him. We belong to Jesus. But, despite the world hating us, Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20 ESV).
God’s last words in the book of Matthew were to go and make disciples of all the nations.
And Acts chapter 1 records that we are to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the remotest part of the earth. For the Jewish believers in Jesus, Jerusalem was their hometown, Judea was their country, Samaria was their surrounding country, and then the remotest part of the earth continued from there.
We also are to be His witnesses in our local town. And we may be called to witness about the love of Jesus to other places—in our nation, surrounding countries, or even the remote parts of the earth.
We are God’s ambassadors
2 Corinthians 5:20 says, “We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us, we beg you on behalf of Christ be reconciled to God” (NASB).
An ambassador is an official representative of Jesus, sent to bring the Good News of the Gospel to those around us.
Romans 10 asks the question: How will people call on Jesus if someone has not told them about Jesus? Now that we belong to Jesus, God says we are to be His ambassadors, to tell others about Jesus, and to help them grow and become strong in their faith.
In my church we have a two-part motto: To Know Christ and To Make Him Known. Sitting in a Bible-believing church, it’s pretty easy to be good at the first part—to Know Christ. It’s a little harder to take care of the second part—To Make Him Known.
But Jesus came to earth to tell us about Himself and to save us. He trained 12 men to spread the Gospel. As they came to know Him as their Savior, they were no longer citizens of this world but citizens of Heaven. And God gave them a mission—to tell others about Him. He gives the same mission to us.
One day we will be with Jesus forever, but for now, even though we are not of the world, we are in the world. Why? Because of Jesus’ love. He wants us to share the Gospel.
