Today’s Post By: Rae Lynn DeAngelis
In the 1970’s film Adventures of the Wilderness Family, a young couple gathered their children and few meager belongings and moved to the wilderness, far from the hustle and bustle of suburban mayhem. In the middle of no man’s land, these pioneers completely secluded themselves from modern-day culture. Their only access to the contemporary world was by seaplane. This brave, industrious family engineered their home from the provisions of nature and lived off the land through gardening, fishing, and hunting. It was a hard life—but uncomplicated.
Living in a remote part of God’s country with no worldly distractions sounds somewhat tempting to me, but would I actually do it? Probably not. I’ve grown a little too accustomed to modern-day conveniences like running water and electricity.
So what is it about this way of life that intrigues me?
I suppose it’s the fact that these people were insulated from the worldliness of their culture. Without all the distractions, they could devote themselves to the things most important in life. “Turn my eyes away from the worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.” (Psalm 119:37)
Christians are called to be set apart—to live differently than the rest of world—but we are not called to completely separate ourselves from the world. If we, like the Wilderness Family, lived in a remote part of the world away from others, we could not possibly fulfill the great commission to go and make disciples of all nations. (Matthew 28:18)
God calls us to live in the world but not be of the world. “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this… to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:27)
Influencing a culture that rejects God and His ways is challenging to say the least. With the many temptations around every corner, we must fight against the effects of worldly sin and corruption in our lives each and every day.
How is it possible to keep pure devotion to God in a predominantly secular culture? We must “set apart” Christ as Lord and allow Him to reign in our lives. When we surrender to God’s higher ways through the power of the Holy Spirit, we have the ability to overcome worldly enticements.
God has given us His great and precious promises to teach, correct, and train us in His righteousness.
Jesus said, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17)
Scripture enlightens our path and directs our steps towards God’s everlasting ways. No matter what we face in life, we can go to the Bible and find strength, hope, and encouragement.
In light of this truth, let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, never forgetting that Jesus is Lord. He is our ever-present help in times of trouble.
As sons and daughters of the King, clothed in His majesty, we have been set apart for Kingdom living. Our royal position comes with great responsibility. Let’s do our best to live in God’s truth day by day.
