What can we expect when we live like the community around us?
Ephesians 2:1-10
What is the community like around us? We might say that the community is concerned about the things of this world. Community is what our schools, our jobs and trade societies, our houses and homeowners’ associations, our political interests, our entertainment, our economy, and our social gatherings are all about. Indeed, the community is all about living in this world and for this world. And what is missing from the community, “the course of this world”? God is missing. Not only is God missing, God is replaced by “the prince of the power of the air,” Satan himself!
When we live like the community around us, we will be “children of wrath, just as the others.” And it is for this very reason that we must be saved! Saved to “sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Saved to receive the exceeding riches of His grace in “the ages to come.” Saved to be the workmanship of Christ, not the workmanship of Satan and this world.
Once we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, we must endure the community around us at some level. But our hope, our focus, our purpose, our desire is not for the community around us. Our hope, our focus, our purpose, and our desire is for Christ Jesus and our walk with Him.