The Real World. The Abundant Life.

I often ask recent college graduates how "the real world" is. Real, meaning you're married, have a full time or salaried job or are job searching. In the last year, I have learned a lot about what it means to live the abundant life. But. I have a Bachelor's degree from UW-Madison and I am living in my parents' house working a minimum wage job at a coffee shop busing tables and making sandwiches. Not exactly the abundant life, is it? At least according to world standards. Don't get me wrong...I'm not complaining. I don't have to pay for rent or food and get to hang out with my niece and nephews and see my family more. I'm simply saying that the "real world" and the "abundant life" has been skewed because of this world. Am I making sense? As Christians, we encourage each other to not conform to the pattern of this world and follow Jesus instead (Hebrews 12:1-2). That is the real world. The real world tells me that it's okay to put myself first and ultimately be selfish. The real world tells me that I need money and a full time job. The real world tells me that college graduation is what constitutes me being in the real world. The real world tells me that the abundant life means having a full time profession, whether in ministry or in the workplace. The real world has submerged me into its flood where I am left drowning in the lie that money, a relationship and having a perfect body is when I will be living the abundant life. I have even fallen under the lie that the abundant life Jesus came for us to live means being a full time missionary or being in full time ministry at a full-time job.

The truth is, we have all been living in the real world since the beginning of time. A real enemy rules the real world. But a real God--the God created this world to be good. God is all good so everything He created was meant to be good. But because we are humans, we have turned good things and beautiful things into complicated, ugly and unsatisfactory things. You should probably take this all with a grain of salt because I can't quite figure out if this is the frustrated tedious-job-searcher-minimum-wage-earner speaking or the real me. The real me being what the Apostle Paul talks about in the book of Ephesians ("they" are the Gentiles):

They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³ to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
--Ephesians 4:18-24--

The Israelites, God's chosen people, considered the Gentiles outcasts; people who were not to be affiliated with in any way. And in their pride, they focused on their title as God's chosen rather than what it really meant to be God's chosen people. They turned a good thing into a bad thing.

Pause: I know the word "bad" sounds elementary. But we are elementary as people because let's face it...we suck. I know I'm kind of all over the place...but this is me externally processing. So help me, please! Offer thoughts, questions, comments and concerns if you so desire. Okay...Back to reality (no pun intended).

The Israelites wandered in the desert for years and years. So you don't have to ask why they were scared and frustrated when they looked at their current circumstances and felt hopeless. We do the same thing. For example...for the last month, I have looked at my life and said "I'm not in a bible study and don't have any face-to-face community, I am so aware of this sin and my humanness and [insert complaint here] " I have asked myself "When, Lord? When will I be freed of this or have that?" Jesus did not come so we could complain about being human. We were not created to complain and throw ourselves a pity party when our friends are "living it up" as full time missionaries and we are stuck in a place where we don't want to be. He came so we could LIVE and be our new selves: "created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:24). THAT IS WHO WE TRULY ARE?! The cool thing is...following Jesus isn't about obtaining our new self...it's about receiving it. I love that. It's not about working to be good. It's about excepting that you are or can be new because God extends abundant grace.

So I don't want to live in the real world. I desire to flee from it. I'm going to pray for the ability to gaze at Jesus and see my savior and let that be enough because following Him is the abundant life. Being loved by Him is the abundant life. In John 10:10, Jesus said 'The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly." I always thought that doing ministry, being a full-time student, having quiet times everyday and going on missions trips is what constituted the abundant life of a Christ-follower. And while God chooses to teach us, reveal himself to us, glorify himself and bless us through those things, all of those things can be turned into selfish things. When we are able to use those things to glorify God, he looks at us and smiles. We are meant to gaze on the creator of the universe and dwell on sovereignty, holiness and authority. When we do that, our expectations change. Our expectation becomes experiencing conviction, humility and joy through failures and pain instead of getting rid of the pain. Our expectation becomes knowing God loves us despite our daily sin instead of working to try and earn God's love.

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy,
to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—
this is your spiritual act of worship.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—
his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:1-2