God's Awesome Trade - series by the Rev Theo Groeneveld, Emmanuel
Presbyterian Church.
A Trader
is a new kind of Missionary
- not
defined by Geography -
but
willing to apply the parable of the Good Samaritan and to go and do
likewise.
A Trader
is intentional with their
time,
talent and skills.
They
trade-in their pursuits for His pursuits.
They
trade in time, money and comfort for a world that needs Christ.
And
now more:
We don’t belong here!
"I am coming to you now, but I say these things
while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy
within them. 14 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. 15 My prayer is not
that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil
one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it."
John20:13-16
Whenever John uses the word John uses the word
"World" in his gospel and his letters, he is almost always talking
about a SYSTEM and not a physical place or location.
In his thinking, the "kosmos" is dominated by
darkness, evil and Satan and is opposition to God.
Maybe today we would describe "kosmos" as
rampant materialism. The folk at the Right Now Campaign have described
"kosmos" as the "New American Dream" where
"more", "mine" and "supersize" are the keywords.
The "kosmos" is a system - a system that places
me and my pleasure at the centre.
In our passage Jesus is praying for us. He is talking to
God and He indicates that He has lived in the system and the system will
soon crucify Him because He has not played by its rules. The system doesn't
have room for those who do what God wants instead of "more",
"mine" and "supersize."
Jesus wants us to be "IN" but not
"OF" the world.
We are to be traders:
trading "more", "mine" and
"supersize"
for "love", "serve" and
"sacrifice."
It is a tough challenge - but Jesus has prayed (and
continues to pray) for our protection.
Will you be a trader?
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