I was reading Jesus’ extraordinary prayer in John 17 the other day and was struck by a recurring theme:

I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world…I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours…I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one…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…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…My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. (John 17.6 – 18, NIV)

It’s about “the world.” After all, “God so loved the world…” (John 3.16)

• The disciples came from the world.
• Jesus came to the world but is leaving soon.
• The disciples are “still in the world” and need the Father’s protection.
• The world hates Jesus’ followers.
• But Jesus is leaving his followers in the world.
• The disciples are to be “in the world but not of the world.”
• Jesus is sending the disciples “into the world.”

Jesus’ plan for the twelve and, by extension, us, is not that we withdraw from the world but that we stay in the world, on a mission to the world. Doing what? Stay tuned.

In the meantime, we have Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount:

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5.13 – 16, ESV)