Joyful Living
Devotions with Pastor Jason Lim

Christians can live in two extremes: we either remove ourselves from this world and live in a joyless solitary state or we start to resemble the world and our joy in God is replaced by the sinful pursuit of worldliness. God's will, however, is that you're to be in the world, but not of the world. 

Jeremiah 29:7 says, "But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare." The Israelites in Jeremiah's days were exiled from their home to live in a foreign country, Babylon. However, they were not to become like the Babylonians. The Israelites were nonetheless commanded to live with them and to be a blessing to them. They would find their purpose and joy, by being God's ambassadors of truth and hope in a foreign place. In a similar way, Christians are called to live in this sinful world in order to serve this sinful world. We are to love all, pray for all and to serve all. We are to be full of good deeds and to seek justice and mercy. The world is decaying, the world is in darkness, but we are called to be salt and the light! 

Just as our Lord Jesus Christ came to seek, to save and to serve a world that is against Him, we are to seek the welfare of a world that is hostile towards us. The church is not called to be militant or subversive. Rather we are to live quiet and peaceable lives, and to serve, love and give with passion and faithfulness. We do so because we are loved in the gospel and we are now to be ambassadors of this joyful news. This is how we live in joy while we wait for our heavenly home. This is gospel living.