ENEMY TO BE FEARED, OR FRIEND TO BE EMBRACED?

SCRIPTURE:
God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.  
(John 3:17)

MEDITATION:
Have you ever noticed that when someone moves into your neighborhood 
from another area, he or she doesn’t exactly fit in initially.
They can have a different dialect, a different accent, 
different ideas, different goals, different mannerisms, etc.

But after awhile, they begin to mesh with their new environment.
The other people start having an influence on him 
and he or she starts to have an influence on the other people.
That’s the way life works doesn’t it?
Each of us have an influence on others and they, in turn, 
have an influence on us.

When Jesus came into the world, He didn’t exactly fit in, did He?
The reason was that He came as a perfect person 
in a world with imperfect people.
Jesus was the exception to the rule.
He could influence many, but none could influence Him, 
even though some tried.

Jesus came to change the world, not for the world to change Him.
Some mistakenly believe He came to condemn the world for its sinfulness.
On the contrary, He came to save the world from eternal condemnation.
Even though there are many who did not appreciate His mission, 
Jesus remained focused on His purpose.
Even though there are many who did not take to heart the good news 
from Jesus, He continued with His mission.

Jesus knew the condition of the world, and He knew that He would ultimately 
make a supreme sacrifice so the people of the world could avoid 
eternal suffering separated from God.
If at any point He had allowed the world to influence Him, 
every person would suffer as a result.
Aren’t you glad Jesus could not be swayed by anyone?

ACTION:
If you are a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, 
then you can learn a lot from His example.
If Jesus remained faithful to His task from God 
and refused to allow His commitment to be changed by the efforts of others,
then you should refuse to allow others to influence you 
in such a way that causes you to fail in obeying God’s commands.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for Your gift of salvation.  Thank You, Jesus 
for not allowing anyone in the world to change your mind regarding your 
mission. Teach me how to prevent myself from being influenced in a negative 
way by those around me. Help me to strive to be more like You, and not like 
the world. Fill me with Your kind of love for others.”