17 days. Time keeps on ticking, ticking, ticking... into the future.

For those of you who don't listen to classic rock, the headline of this post is from a song called 'Fly Like An Eagle' by the Steve Miller band. I used to listen to classic rock all the time. On the radio going to and from work, on my MP3 player, on my computer. It was definitely my genre of choice. I think that the reason I liked it more than the alternative/pop/metal/etc that most people my age seem to listen to is due largely to the people I hung around. When I worked at my various construction jobs pre-Navy most of my co-workers were about 20 years older than me. That was the music they had grown up with and listened to all the time. The people I associated with rubbed off on me. If only their choice of music had been all that rubbed off...

The friends I choose have a huge effect on my life. Peer pressure isn't just something that affects teens. It is more overt during those years, and makes a bigger impact on behavior, but it continues on in a more subtle form throughout our lives. The way we talk, the movies we watch, the conversations we have, the things we fill our minds with is affected mightily by those with whom we associate. This is something the Lord has made me accutely aware of in the last year. When I allow my non-Christian friends to influence my choices in life, I am pushing God out. While He doesn't call us to withdraw from the world, He does call us to cut off the the influences and desires of our old sinful nature. John 17:14-18 says:

I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world." (NIV)

Jesus should be our model in this. He lived a life that was very much in the world. He associated with all kinds of people. He didn't shy away from the sinners and unsavory characters in His life. But He kept Himself unstained by them. He didn't let them affect His walk with His Father. This isn't easy. It requires such a close walk with God that we are constantly looking to Him for our guidance and nourishment, and not to those around us. Time after time Jesus withdrew to a quiet place to pray. He needed time alone with God. He needed the refreshing power of the Father to renew His spirit. What makes us different and sets us apart from those who do not follow Christ? Romans 12:2 says:

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..." (NIV)

The 'renewing of our mind' comes from God when He forgives our sins and wipes the slate clean. When we accepted Christ as our Savior, we were born again with renewed minds. But it can't stop there. Every day we are influenced by worldly desires. Even if we keep ourselves away from all others, we still have a sinful nature that tries to corrupt what God has planted in us. Renewing our mind is a daily exercise. A moment-by-moment confession of sin and commitment to follow Christ in all things. Whenever a thought pops into your mind that is not pleasing to Him, recognize it as such and confess it. Ask the Lord to transform you into His image. This is a battle we will fight until we reach heaven.

But it won't make you popular with those still of this world. In John 15:18-19 Jesus says:

"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." (NIV)

A total commitment to God does require you to separate yourself from the world when it comes to desires, actions, and thoughts. People will see that. They'll see that you're different. They'll see that you don't belong to Satan, that you aren't a child of the world. They may not recognize it as such, but they will hate you for it. If everyone you know who is not a child of God loves you and makes you feel like you fit in with them, you are not in God's will. Jesus makes this clear. A life lived for the Lord is a life at odds with the world.

So what's the reward for going through life with the world hating you? Why does it matter? Why not separate our spiritual life from the rest of what we say and do, and try to fit in with the world?

"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever." - 1 John 2:15-17 (NIV)

That last verse is our hope. '... the man who does the will of God lives forever.' This is the promise of God for those who follow Him. It will not be an easy life here on earth. But the time spent in the human flesh will be over quickly. Eternity awaits. And that is what matters. Is it worth being hated by the world in return for eternity spent with the Father? I think it is.

God, it is so easy to compromise on the little things in order to 'fit in' with the world. There are so many little decisions that seem unimportant, but would make people like us, accept us, and love us. Lord, let me see each of these for what it really is: a turning my back on You in return for the shallow, temporary pleasures of the world. Let me be so caught up in You that I can rejoice in the trials and hardships of life, keeping in mind that we are foreigners and strangers in this world. Let me see how vast and how great and how deep eternity is. Lord, I ask that You would show me the areas of my life where I am pleasing men instead of You. I ask that You would convict me of the ways that I compromise my walk with You in order to be more liked, more accepted, more loved by the world. Father, I would rather be hated by the world than to give up even a small portion of the blessings You promise to those who walk steadfastly in Your ways. Help me to remember this constantly as I make decisions about how I live my life here on earth. May You be glorified in everything I do.