June 26
‘Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.’ Hebrews 12:14
Bible reading: 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1 (Go to the Bible passage)
‘Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.’
These words are often used as a warning for young people not to start a relationship with an unbeliever, but Paul does not just say these words with regard to a possible marriage. Of course, this complicates matters, but it is a reality and when we come to understand the true meaning of these words - and become obedient to them ourselves - we will not need to warn our children with regard to their possible life-partners.
Does this warning then mean that we should never mingle with unbelievers? Then we would have to leave this world! No, it means an inner detachment from everything that is not from God. In the radical devotion to Jesus, we will find that we break away from all things of this fleeting world. Only when we are really set free by Jesus (John 8:36) we can be – like Paul said (1 Corinthians 9:20) - a Jew to the Jews and a Greek to the Greeks, in a relaxed and loving way. As long as we are still drawn by our surroundings and by the spirit of this world, we must simply confess to God that we are not yet radically dedicated to Him.
We do not come to this confession if we maintain a forced separation of this world, safe in the group of fellow believers. For within the community, we will share in the good it offers as easily as we would share in the bad the world offers us. Only when we stand as disciples of Christ in this world, it will be revealed whether the Lord is truly the source of our life.
Consequently, we will have to confess much to Him. Then our lives will be truly sanctified – will be holy - and hereby we will get to know Him ever better in all the ways we go here on earth, safely kept in Him.

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