“I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one<\/em>” (John 17:15).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
We might wish we’d been born in another world, but that choice is not ours. What we’ve got is what we’ve got. Jesus’ prayer for us was not for God to give us another environment but to help us with the one we’ve got. Some changes in the world are more transformative than others, and the modern\/urban\/digital revolution is one of the major hinges in human history so far. To those naive enough to say, “I’m not afraid,” Yoda would say, “You will<\/strong> be.”<\/p>\n
In J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings<\/em>, there is a famous scene in which Gandalf explains to Frodo the terrifying things that have come to pass in Middle-earth. Saddened and fearful, Frodo says, “I wish it need not have happened in my time.” To which Gandalf replies, “So do I, and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” You don’t have to be a Tolkien fan to see the wisdom in that. Our duty is to play well the hand we’ve been dealt.<\/p>\n
There is no denying that some epochs are more difficult to live in than others. Pretence is evil, and we must never pretend that things are just fine when they are not. Nor should we simply bury our heads in the sand. The Christian should be the first to weep over conditions that are sorrowful and work toward their betterment in any way he can. What I am saying is simply this: our work in the Lord will be helped if we honestly – and with accurate information – acknowledge that we’re doing that work in a world *significantly different* than the one we were working in a few short years ago.<\/p>\n
One piece of evidence that Christianity is of divine origin is that it ministers to the human spirit regardless of the environment<\/strong>. Has the world moved from pre-modern to modern? That’s fine. Is human life now most often urban? That’s okay. Do digital technologies dominate our lifestyles? Don’t worry about it. Ever since Adam and Eve took up residence east of Eden, God has called His people to bloom where they’re planted, in a wild multitude of environments. Whatever may be the context in which your life must be lived today, it will be possible, by His grace, to do what needs to be done. Go ahead and do it!<\/p>\n
“How I spend this ordinary day in Christ is how I will spend my Christian life” (Tish Harrison Warren).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Gary Henry via WordPoints.com “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15). We might wish we’d been born in another world, but that choice is not ours. What we’ve got is what we’ve got. Jesus’ prayer for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[353],"class_list":["post-93605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-influence"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":37259,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-time-given-us\/","url_meta":{"origin":93605,"position":0},"title":"The Time Given Us","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 19, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by John R. Gibson In his epic novel depicting a great struggle between good and evil, J.R. R. Tolkien narrates the following conversation about the evil threat of Sauron. 'I wish it need not have happened in my time,' said Frodo. 'So do I, said Gandalf, 'and so do all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/clock.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":90641,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/work-in-progress\/","url_meta":{"origin":93605,"position":1},"title":"Work in Progress","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores Both of my grandfathers died before I was born, so I never got the opportunity to know them. From what I heard from those who did, they were like most men, with lives salted and peppered with both good and bad. But instead of worrying about what\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":88400,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/slow-down-and-focus\/","url_meta":{"origin":93605,"position":2},"title":"Slow Down and Focus","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores We live in a world where short attention spans are the order of the day. Information, circumstances, and opportunities come at us rapidly from every direction that if our heads could swivel completely around, they'd look like a spinning top. 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She came forward and repented of her sins. 3 years ago the same member got pregnant by a different boyfriend and had a baby. She again came forward\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":85222,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-woman-as-bishop\/","url_meta":{"origin":93605,"position":4},"title":"A Woman as Bishop","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 1, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Vance Trefethen via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 16 No. 1, March 31, 1990 The recent elevation of Barbara Harris to the position of bishop in the Episcopal church stirred up a great deal of controversy within that denominational body and called the attention of the world at large to the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23263,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/demanding-a-sign\/","url_meta":{"origin":93605,"position":5},"title":"Demanding a Sign","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. 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