13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Key Observation:
We are kept by Jesus in the name of the Father.
Devotion:
Jesus keeps us in the name of the Father, and Jesus has given us the Word of the Father. Sanctification, hinted at here, takes place on two levels. First I am sanctified, or set apart from the world when I come to Jesus. But also I must separate myself unto holiness. The Reformation times were good at this kind of sanctification, but here I must exercise caution. Sanctifying myself can easily lead to judgments of others which I just should not make.
For instance, my wife grew up with Christian parents who had been taught that movie houses were places of sin. They were immediately uncomfortable with the thought of anyone going into a movie, even if it was the latest Disney release. Similarly, the generation before me felt that drinking any alcohol, of any form of dancing to be sinful. I fear that a natural outcome of living by coded rules can easily make me to be like the Pharisees. All throughout the book of John the Pharisees are looking for rule-breaking so that they can accuse Jesus. It is not at all that we are not supposed to live by rules; it is very much that we should not let the rules become the master.
Be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds, says the Scripture. Be ye holy as I am holy says the Scripture. That is the sort of sanctification that I should aim at; anything more will make me proud and vain not over who I am, but rather what I do. The aim of sanctification for ourselves, then is in separating who I am, not so much what I do. I am a child of God, made holy and pure by Jesus Christ, and there is where I should exult, and find my holiness. I am reminded of the silly refrain from a generation ago: “I don’t smoke. I don’t chew, and I don’t go with girls that do.” When I establish such rules, especially to give them out as Christian rules, what the world correctly sees in us is empty form, whited sepulchres, and not at all the person and power of the Son of God Himself. What their eyes are upon is the Rules, and because of that I fear that they will not see the Ruler.
I must separate myself, not to follow rules, or even this creed or that creed, but for the purpose of living for and worshipping God. So what does that mean practically? I will not do many things because I do not feel God has any glory in them, and not because there is a Christian taboo against them. Similarly, I will not express disdain toward my fellow Christian for making wrong choices, rather I will go to that special place next to my Father that He has made for me, and I will exult in Him. I will pray for my brothers, that they might find that special place of sanctification also. And perhaps most importantly, I need to struggle each day to be better used by the God who has placed Himself within me.
As I do that, together with the sanctification spoken of above, the world might more readily see Christ in me and me in Christ. Paul wrote to the Colossians explaining a bit of the duality of sanctification: “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel.” (1:21-23) Notice that Paul first refers to the reconciliation of the cross, but then he urges us to continue and be not moved from our Great Hope. I shall not be moved. How about you?
I Shall Not Be Moved
Jesus is my Savior, I shall not be moved;
In His love and favor, I shall not be moved,
Just like a tree that's planted by the waters,
Lord, I shall not be moved.
In my Christ abiding, I shall not be moved;
In His love I'm hiding, I shall not be moved,
Just like a tree that's planted by the waters,
Lord, I shall not be moved.
If I trust Him ever, I shall not be moved;
He will fail me never, I shall not be moved,
Just like a tree that's planted by the waters,
Lord, I shall not be moved.
On His word I'm feeding, I shall not be moved;
He's the One that's leading, I shall not be moved,
Just like a tree that's planted by the waters,
Lord, I shall not be moved.
Chorus
I shall not be, I shall not be moved;
I shall not be, I shall not be moved;
Just like a tree that's planted by the waters,
Lord, I shall not be moved.
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