Living in the Real World
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God's right hand in the place of honor and power. Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth. For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your real life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. ~ Colossians 3:1-4
My son recently got this message from a friend he was texting,
“Think about this for a little. You can't stay away from everything impure forever. Eventually you have to go into the real world and the fact of the matter is not everyone is a Christian and there is a lot of impurity in the world. You can't stay sheltered forever, so don't shelter yourself from everything or else when you finally do go out into the real world you're going to have some major culture shock.”
My son asked how he should respond, so we had a talk and this was the reply.
“Lots of people talk about ‘the real world,’ but the Bible says that this world is just a sinful shadow of real life. Real life is found in God.
Colossians 3 says-- For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your real life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
Hollywood doesn’t know a thing about real life. What Hollywood offers is the shadows. If you want the Shadows, then Hollywood is your answer. But if you want real life, you need to embrace Christ.
I know that people curse, do drugs, smoke, get drunk, have sex, and more. I don't need to see it and experience it--whether on TV or in the world to know what it is. It is something I am to be dead to...not entertained by.
I won't be shocked by the culture...but I want the culture to be shocked by how I live for Christ surrounded by people who don't. They will experience His love, hope, peace, and grace through me because I seek to draw close to Him not be drawn away and dulled by the world.
If Flash and Arrow are "real life" then I don't want real life...but they are not real life. Real life is found in Christ...and besides, my dad is a pastor. If he cursed a bunch of times in his sermons and showed some nasty ppt images, he would be fired. Yet, those same church people who would fire him will watch it on TV...why is that okay? If it’s not alright from the pulpit, it’s not alright from the TV, from our mouths, etc.
Perhaps Christianity is shrinking in American because instead of us influencing the world, we spend our time being influenced by it. No one sees Jesus that way...they only see the culture.
Just my two cents."
So, are you living in the real world or are you living in this world?
