Juggling

Juggling

Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world.

John 17:18

LIVING IN LAS VEGAS, I’ve gotten to know one of the best jugglers in the world.

This guy can juggle three machetes while riding a unicycle.

I can juggle three tennis balls while standing on the ground.

When my kids were younger they would take two balls, start tossing them up and down, and shout, “Look, Daddy! I’m juggling!” I would explain to them that you have to juggle more than two things for it to be considered juggling.

Lately, though, I’ve reconsidered my position on juggling. I now think there are two things that if you can keep them both “in the air” at the same time qualify you as a juggler.

In the World, Not of the World

In John 17 we find Jesus praying. He is praying for us.

He prays for us because we are “in the world.”^a He tells his Father that he does not want his followers taken “out of the world.”^b In fact, he says he is sending us “into the world.”^c But he doesn’t want us to be “of the world.”^d

Reading it can be a little confusing.

When Jesus says that we are not to be “of the world,” he means that we can’t be like everyone else. People need to see a difference in those who call themselves Christians. We should be set apart by our character; our lives should be marked by love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.^e The Bible says that our lives should be so distinct that people notice and are forced to ask questions.^f We are not to be of the world, not to be the same as everyone else. We should live question-provoking lives.

When Jesus says we are to be “in the world,” he means that we can’t isolate ourselves from everyone else. People who don’t believe need to be around people who do. We set ourselves apart by our character, but we don’t separate ourselves. In fact, the Bible says that we are to be Christ’s ambassadors to this world.^g Just as an ambassador lives in another nation to represent his or her country, we live in this world we are not a part of, and among its people, to represent Jesus.

Reading Jesus’ words in John 17 can be a little confusing. Living them can be really confusing. Many Christians find it to be a difficult obstacle to overcome—they either want to retreat from the world, or they live in the world and are just like the world. In fact, living in the world but not being of the world is kind of like, well, juggling.

A Flight to the Holy Land

A few years back I was able to go to the Holy Land.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I decided to journal all of it. I would write down my impressions and what I learned about the land where Jesus lived.

I planned on writing once we arrived in Israel, but something happened when we got on the airplane that made me grab my journal. A Hasidic Jew was sitting across from me and making a spectacle of himself. Here’s what I wrote:

He sits across the aisle from me all gray hair and gray curls and gray beard and black pants and black jacket and black hat. He is chanting. The moment he took his seat he began reading his Hebrew Scriptures. I grab the in-flight magazine to see what the movie might be.

Is he reading out loud, or praying, or singing?

What radio stations can I listen to with these headphones?

I get out my journal to do some calling on God of my own. The man is calling a flight attendant.

God, can you help me? I write.

“How can I help you?” the stewardess asks.

What can I learn from sitting next to this man? I ask God.

“I cannot sit by a woman,” the man tells the flight attendant.

Let’s see what she does about this, I think.

“Let me see what I can do about this,” she says.

She walks away. He goes back to reading. I go back to writing. A young lady walks up and prepares to take the seat in front of me. I look up. He looks up. I look down. He looks up again. I look at him. He looks up again, and again, and again. He’s checking her out! At least I think so. I’m pretty sure. No wonder he must sit next to a man. So is it good that he knows his weakness? Or is it bad that he has separated himself out of real life?

God, I don’t want to be of this world, but I do want to be in it. I want to be both approachable and beyond reproach. I want to love you and people. I want to breathe you in and also breathe you out. I want to feel your touch and I want to be your touch.

God, help me to be like this man across the aisle, and please make sure I am not like him. More than anything, I want to be like Jesus.

Like Jesus

When you realize God is for you, it becomes enticing to want to pull yourself out of the world so you can put your focus more on him.

When you realize God is also for everyone else, it becomes imperative to put yourself into the world so you can help others put their faith in him.

It’s challenging.

But it’s encouraging to know that Jesus prayed for help for us to do it.

And it’s essential for us to look at Jesus so we know how to do it. Because he was in the world but not of it. He kept his focus on God, and he helped others find faith in him.

I may be the first person to say it this way, but Jesus was a great juggler.

Now What?

• Read John 17:6-19.
• What is one way you are too much “of the world”? How could that change? And what is one way you’re not “in the world” enough? How could that change?
• Isn’t it amazing to know that Jesus prayed for you? One thing he prayed is that you would be in the world (not retreat from it, but have relationships with and influence on people who don’t know God), but not of the world (not thinking and acting the way the world does). If Jesus prayed that for you, you should probably join him and pray that for yourself. Why don’t you do that now?