rants and rambles

Dear Dr. Lewis,

One quick thought: One only becomes numb to things that they experience or are exposed to over and over for a consistent period, right? Therefore, if "Being in the world, but not of it" were being exercised, would we have this problem of indifference towards the Gospel of Christ?

Dear Person Who calls me Dr. Lewis,
Cease and desist. You may not call me that; at least, not in an email. I may have to call you Dr. --------. No, on second thought, you’d sound like you should be on that tv show, Providence.
And now to your rhetorical(?) question.
In Steve Turner’s book, Imagine, he states the most quotable quote I’ve read in years. He is referring to Christians who separate themselves from the world and develop a pride and sense of superiority among other worldly traits. Turner, witnessing this says that rather than being in the world but not of it, as Jesus has asked us to be, they are of the world but not in it.
So I agree with you, If we exercise this command, we would more strongly feel the urgency of the Gospel of Christ. It seems to me that the danger of growing indifferent toward the gospel by being in the world is less a danger than growing indifferent toward the gospel by not being in the world. If Turner’s observation is true, and I have certainly witnessed it, then the separatist tends to look down upon the harvest (to whom the gospel is given) and because he continually compares himself to those he consciously avoids, develops a self-righteousness and a faulty measurement tool that misleads him as he assesses his morality and Christ-likeness. He ceases to have concern for the souls he looks down upon and therefore becomes indifferent to the gospel and its impact on those by whom he is offended. He becomes more comfortable in his own separation and by it, begins to feel more pure, and thus becomes indifferent toward the gospel and its impact on him. He no longer sees himself in need of a savior and therefore the gospel has no relevance to him at all.
Nay, it seems to me that because the gospel of Christ is for the world (for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believed in Him would not perish but have everlasting life), then being in the world could only make the gospel more relevant, more urgent, more heart wrenching. When we don’t see obvious sin all around us, we sometimes become numb to our own sin.
I doubt that Mother Teresa became indifferent to hospitals because she was among sick and dying people all the time. Rather, she felt more deeply their need, and was constantly reminded of every ailment that was provided for by the great Physician.
Good call Dr. ----------. Perhaps the reason we are so afraid of being in the world is because we are not active Jesus followers. We want to be able to be in the world and be Christians – not go into the world as Christians. The former implies identity, the latter, purpose. If we have received the gospel and go into the world, we’ll exist, but if we go into the world with the gospel, we will retain focus and not grow indifferent. We will lose only what we don’t exercise. If we exercise the gospel into other people’s lives, we will continually be in awe of its power in our own lives.