So, you’re a devoted disciple of Jesus Christ. Daily, you look out at the world in which you live – you hear what is being said, you see what is being done – and increasingly you are feeling more and more different and separate – even in relation to some family and friends. You come to understand more deeply what Jesus prayed concerning His disciples: “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world”. (John 17:16) But still, the difference is startling. The separation and alienation run deeper than you had imagined. You feel like a stranger in a strange land. And you wonder: “What is the nature of this alienation?” That which is alienating you from the world is – Truth. The very next sentence in that prayer Jesus asked the Father, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” (John 17:17) You are alienated (separated) by Truth. But as Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.” (John 6:68) Having “a love of the Truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:10), how then shall we live in this world?
