You Live in Our World Now

You Live in Our World Now

Recently an Amish family near Greenville, MI was traveling home. It was raining, and a truck decided to pass them as they drove their buggy, left wheels on the pavement and right wheels on the shoulder. The truck crossed the double yellow line and then had to swing back suddenly as he saw a car approaching. He sideswiped the buggy carrying a dad, mom and five children. The baby in mom’s arms died. Mom is in critical condition in the hospital, along with the other children. Dad alone did not need medical treatment. The horse had to be put down. 

I was surprised when discussion concerning the accident blamed the Amish buggy. The baby should have been in a car seat. There need to be more restrictions about where and when they can use the roads. In other words, you live in our world now. You have to fit in.

Never mind that some years ago, horse and buggies were the rule, and cars were the problem. And never mind that in just a few years, owners of self-driving cars will be saying the same thing about error-prone human drivers. You live in our world now. You have to fit in.

And never mind that we can be downright sure the driver of the buggy was not distracted by his cell phone, but we have no such certainty concerning drivers of cars. And never mind that the truck driver seemed to be in a great hurry, when the Amish communities have refused to make “hurry” a thing. But, you live in our world now. You have to fit in. 

I am not seeking to espouse an Amish lifestyle, though I find their ways intriguing. All of mankind and its various cultures are beset by sin, and the Amish are not exempt. But I am also interested how it is that we as Christians live in a world system that says to us, “You live in our world now. You have to fit in.” 

Perhaps a well-known and fitting passage to which we can refer would be Jesus’ Beatitudes that lead off Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Jesus says that we should be “poor in spirit,” but the world says that we should be full of ourselves, talk loud and be first in line. Jesus says that we should mourn over sin, but the world says, “who’s to say what sin is? Accept yourself.”  Jesus says we should be “addicted” to righteousness, but the world offers a host of other addictions. And then they say to us, “You live in our world not. You have to fit in.”

Paul tells us in Philippians that “our citizenship is in heaven.” It is the home for which we are being prepared. We should not be surprised that we don’t fit in well with the world. And if we were made for another, better world, why should we even want to fit into this one.

But just to check that thought a bit, this is not the world’s world. They may act like it, but we still sing the song, “This Is My Father’s Word,” since He created it, after all. That hymn contains the phrase, “and though the wrong seems oft so strong, He is the Ruler yet.” Yes, He is. So when the world says, “You live in our world now. You have to fit in,” perhaps we can reply, firmly and graciously, no, we live here as followers of Christ and have a right to the side of the road, dangerous as it may be.