Romans 12:2 (NKJV) And do not be conformed to this world…

When the Bible uses the word world, it is used in the geographic sense referring to the planet or it is in a metaphoric sense, where world refers to everything that does not submit or yield to God’s direct authority.

In Romans 12:2, we’re warned against being conformed to this world. God’s Word is telling us the world, everything that’s not of God, has a way of doing things. There’s a mindset, an agenda, a common standard from which it operates. And we, who are of God, have to guard against conforming to (or taking the shape of… ) the world’s ways.

Matthew 5:43-45 (NKJV) “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven…”

The world says to hate those who hate you. God says to love those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who abuse you. A person who lives this way doesn’t fit into the world’s mold. Jesus also tells us that when we live this way, we establish our identity as God’s children.

But the reverse is true, as well. If we live like the world, we start to blend in and become just like the environment around us. When I first truly gave my life over to Christ’s Lordship, I started feeling less and less at ‘home’ in the world I had previously lived. What was normal operating procedure for me began to feel alien and unnatural. Old friends and even some family said they didn’t know how to deal with the new me. They were comfortable with the ‘old’ me but apparently the new me felt as alien to them as I felt in my old world. Some of those people fell away from my life and I missed them for a time. Today, when I run into them or hear about them, it seems as if nothing has changed in their lives over all the years. It feels like stepping back to a place locked in time. I am thankful not to belong in that place. That’s why the Lord warns us against conforming to this world and calls us to live a life in Him that’s truly out of this world.

My life is neither trouble nor pain free but living in a world which yields and submits to God's direct authority is full of assurance He will never leave nor forsake me if all else do. I wake up each morning in His world which is full of mercy and grace. I know without a doubt he will pick me up no matter how often I fall on my face. I can climb up into His lap, lay my head on His 'shoulder' and He wipes my tears when I face the pain in the physical 'planet' world. One day He will take me 'home' to my real world, the world in which I reside with Him forever. For now, He is just a prayer away, waiting for me to call HOME.