Twos and Threes – Part 5 – Against the World, For the World

If there is a motto that might be applied to those groups of twos and threes who are spending and being spent for one another’s souls, it might well be, “Against the world, for the world.”

As the apostle Paul noted, we cannot escape this world without coming out of it altogether (1 Cor. 5.9, 10). Our Kingdom citizenship is in the world, but not of it. And while we are not indifferent to the world’s confusions, fears, uncertainties, doubts, and pains, we are wary of its notions about the larger questions of life, culture, society, and the self.

We are for the world to restore that which Christ has reconciled to the Father (2 Cor. 5.19); but we are against the world as it seeks to establish hegemony over our souls.

We are for the world to reap the benefits of God’s common grace; but we must guard ourselves against all forms of worldly indulgence that contradict the plan and purpose of God.

We are for the world to win the world’s attention for Jesus Christ—only God can win them to Himself; our task is but to win their attention. But we must be always on guard against worldly winds of doctrine that would blow us off course in our journey to the Lord Jesus Christ.

So there is work to do, work that goes beyond—but does not exclude—our jobs, work in which we seek the Kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit by making ourselves available as agents of grace to the people in our lives. This work begins in our souls and goes forward each day in all the relationships, roles, and responsibilities of our lives, in all the time and stuff of our lives, and in everything we say and do.

And the consistent teaching of Scripture is that this work is better pursued in company with other like-minded, Kingdom-focused people. Think Moses and Joshua; David and Jonathan; Daniel and his friends; Jesus and His disciples; Peter and John; Paul and Timothy and Silas and Clement and all the others.

As we commit ourselves as bands of brothers, practicing the care and nurture of our souls and the progress of Christ’s Kingdom, we must be clear about what we’re up against. The world in our day has swallowed the lie of Satan which insists that God is either non-existent or irrelevant, and that we are on our own to do the best we can to make the best lives for ourselves.

The problem of course, is that people cannot agree on what the “best” is, and so we are awash in competing ideologies, political agendas, tribal mantras, and individual pursuits, all enmeshed with one another in a world of wantonness, willfulness, weirdness, woe, and war. People will lie, stretch the truth, invent facts, and deceive in every way possible if doing so advances their interest. Our world is well described by the familiar quote from Sir Walter Scott, “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.”

Working together in twos and threes, we can help one another resist the wiles of the devil and stay on the path of righteousness that Jesus has marked out for us (1 Jn. 2.1-6). We can study to understand the times and develop strategies to keep us from being ensnared in the various deceptions of our age. Together we can work to make our lights shine brighter, warmer, and more winsomely in our spheres, as we live out the hope we have in Jesus and the joy we know in serving Him. And this will certainly provoke some in our spheres to ask a reason for the hope which is within us (1 Pet. 3.15).

For such friendships to work and bear fruit as we see in those Biblical soul friends, participants must share a mutual commitment to a few foundational disciplines. First, seeking Jesus. Him, His Kingdom, His calling. His ministry to the people in your life spheres. This pursuit begins in prayer and the Word of God and works out in all aspect of our lives. This discipline lacking, soul friendships will have no common bond that can hold and edify them for long.

Next, soul friends must be diligent in prayer for one another. And do not let your prayers be led only about your needs or concerns. Look to the psalms for guidance in how to seek a broader horizon of prayer, where praise and thanksgiving set the tone and all prayers seek to bring glory and honor to God.

Then, be sure to get regular time together, whether in person or virtually. Time for sharing, encouraging, learning, teaching, and prayer. Time to enjoy and get to know one another. Time for planning, strategizing, rejoicing, and bearing burdens. Time for prayer.

Finally, practice loving accountability. Soul friendships aim for the edification of our souls and the fruitfulness of our lives. We need to challenge one another, question one another, and encourage one another in specific ways. Are we continuing our daily disciplines? Making progress toward goals? Being faithful in our spheres to seek and advance the Kingdom of God? Keeping ourselves free of sin?

Let embracing these disciplines mark the beginning of your soul friendship. Review them frequently, and renew them every year.

Meet with your soul friend soon, but first, forward this meditation to your friend, and let it be a part of the agenda of your next time together. Together you can further your calling to stand against the world and for the world at one and the same time.