If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

John 15:19 (ESV)

Reading this passage should make us think a little more than usual. What is the difference between our view of life and God’s perspective? To us, life is a test. We constantly have to solve problems and figure out solutions in order to get by. We have to study for it and trust in our knowledge before taking on the obstacles in our way. To us, life is also a temporary assignment. As Christians, we know that we’re not going to live forever. We’re reminded at every funeral we attend.

We should think about life as a temporary assignment God has given us. He gave us the gift of eternal life and His last words to us before ascending into heaven was to preach His name among the nations and to make disciples. However, just because He ascended into heaven doesn’t mean He left us to worry about our life on our own. God gives us the strength to endure the tests life throws at us through His Holy Spirit. He convicts us and guides us to get to the answers of the problems we have.

We don’t always go to God for help at the start. When we feel the hate of the world against us, sometimes we back into a corner and we struggle with the next problem. We must continually trust in God. Life is all about trust. God chose us out of the whole world to be His followers. This should give us confidence that God is on our side whenever we face trouble. He trusts us with His gospel message, so in turn, we should trust in Him.

Everything on this earth was created by God. That means He is in control. Nothing on this earth belongs to us. Everything we own is really a temporary loan. We are here to take of the blessings God has given us and then pass them down the line when we are gone. We have to show God that we can be trusted with the gifts He has given us. We are not to be of the world, but of Jesus Christ, who created the world.

We can’t get caught up in temporary pleasures. We’re not completely happy here on earth, because we’re not supposed to be. Earth is not our final home. We were created for something much better. We were created to be above the world and to give it hope through the powerful, positive message of Jesus Christ.

This week, give this idea some thought. Meditate on the fact that we’re not supposed to be on this earth to enjoy the temporary pleasures, but rather show people the pleasures of God, who is eternal.