A popular phrase circles Christian culture like a vulture: “Be in the world, but not of the world.” For some, this phrase has allowed us to remain distanced from the hard issues people all around us face. Of course, Jesus’ message surrounding a similar idea was more nuanced: “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world” (John 17).
What Jesus was laying out in John 17—often referred to as the High Priestly Prayer—was not a call for separation and opposition. Neither was it a call to war. Jesus was instead reminding His followers that, grounded in the reality that they have been united to Christ and transformed by grace, they can fulfill their calling as ambassadors who desire others to experience the same unity and transformation. “Be in the world, but not of the world” has a subtle whisper: You don’t belong here anyway; you don’t have to care that much. Jesus counters that we do have to care: I send you into the world…
And this world in which we are sent includes many thorny issues that would be far easier to avoid dealing with! But issues like racial tensions, gender inequality, political messiness, economic injustice, homelessness, broken families, poverty, and war demand a response by God’s people—and it is not one that starts with us vs. them. Engaging these hard issues begins with a simple reminder: Jesus has not sent us out as generals to win a war. He has sent us as ambassadors to woo people to Himself.
Acts 17 serves as a good model for us. Sent to Athens, Paul was surrounded by idols. In the NIV, it says he was “distressed” by what he saw, but in the Message version, it is paraphrased that he was “angered” (v. 16). Whatever his prominent emotion, Paul did not delay in responding: he began engaging with all those he met, trying to understand what they believed and why. And then he found a way to intersect the culture with the gospel:
Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you. (vv. 22-23)
He did not demonize them; instead, he observed: “I see that in every way you are very religious.” He didn’t go to war with a people who had many idols; instead, he found an opening to share the gospel: “I even found an altar with an inscription: to an unknown god…”
Although not necessarily idols, divisive and thorny issues like racial tensions, gender inequality, political messiness, economic injustice, homelessness, broken families, poverty, and war can also be opportunities for us to find common ground to begin gospel conversations.
Let me share several ways Christians can engage well with the hard issues of today.
1. We Live With Gentleness and Respect (See 1 Peter 3:15).
When I think of Jesus, images of an honest and humble life come to my mind. With those who disbelieved or disagreed with Him, Jesus responded with theological clarity and grace. Too many images of Christians today are provocative and defensive. They are warlike images. Instead, Jesus came in a spirit of service and kindness, especially to those who were hurting and marginalized.
2. We Lean Into Lament and Sorrow for All That’s Wrong in Our World.
Jesus’ response to pain was guttural: when He approached Jerusalem, He “saw the city, he wept over it” (Luke 19:41) and when He saw the pain caused by Lazarus’ death, He wept (John 11:35). Jesus acknowledged and leaned into pain. He never walked the other way, responding, “I am not of this world, so I don’t need to get involved.”
