Live as a Light in Darkness (vv. 11-15)
- Infiltrate but do not imitate
- Illuminate but do not alienate
- Cooperate but do not deviate
Live in Liberty Under Direction (v. 16)
- Freedom in the world
- Freedom from the world
Live by Love Amidst Desperation (v. 17)
- Considerate love to the unsaved
- Sacrificial love to the saved
- Reverential love to Savior
- Respectful love to the sovereigns
More to Consider
Years ago, the communist government in China commissioned an author to write a biography of Hudson Taylor with the purpose of distorting the facts and presenting him in a bad light.
They wanted to discredit the name of this consecrated missionary of the gospel. As the author was doing his research, he was increasingly impressed by Taylor's saintly character and godly life, and he found it extremely difficult to carry out his assigned task with a clear conscience.
Eventually, at the risk of losing his life, he laid aside his pen, renounced his atheism, and received Jesus as his personal Savior.
Whether we realize it or not, our example leaves an impression on others. Sign in an executive's office: "What I am about to say represents one four-billionth of the world's opinion."
Jack Williams, Phoenix Gazette.
Dr. John Geddie went to Aneityum in 1848 and worked there for God for 24 years. On the tablet erected to his memory these words are inscribed:
When he landed, in 1848, there were no Christians. When he left, in 1872, there were no heathen.
J.O. Sanders, Spiritual Leadership, p. 24.
An elderly gentleman was sitting on a park bench, basking in the sun, when another elderly fellow sat down. They looked at each other for a moment but did not speak. Both men sat there, staring straight ahead.
After a while, one of them heaved a big, heartfelt sigh.
The other jumped up immediately and said, "If you're going to talk politics, I'm leaving."
Bits & Pieces, June 24, 1993, p. 7.
The penalty that good men pay for not being interested in politics is to be governed by men worse than themselves.
Plato.
