Ducks and life

What does it mean to be in the world and not of the world?

The last week or so I seemed to be a doing a lot of talking around how much we are part of the world and yet not conformed by the world. Materialism and consumerism are real problem and issues. I wrestled for a long time whether or not to buy an ipod and eventually had done but it took me almost 2 months to justify it as a decision even after a good friend gave me enough for half the cost.

There are a lot of pressures on us and sometimes they become almost overwhelming. Sometimes we confuse loving others as being totally available and open to them, but this is not true. Our boundaries remain an important element to us being in the world but not of the world. Like we can never solve another's problems, we can neither taken their burden's in life from them. We can stand and sit and walk with them, we can prop them up and encourage them, we can bring the love of God to them but not remove the load.

The metaphor of a duck is very important to me in life, but recently it has been transformed. A duck is waterproof and it does not swim in the water. Look carefully it is so waterproof that it floats on top of the water. When it rains the duck knows it is raining but it doesn't get wet. It is touched by what is going on around it but it does not absorb the water. So also in life
- in our emotional lives, our spiritual lives, and our values and goals in life. And here is the beauty of it all, that God works within us.

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. Rom 12:2