The appointed reading for today is from John 15:12-27. In these Jesus speaks of the "world" hating those who follow him. The world hates them because they do not participate in the ways of "the world". If they were not following Jesus in The Way, then they would go along with the way that those around them are going and would fit in and would (by their going along) be supporting the way which is so popular and preferred.
Those of you reading this are unlikely to be among those who are "going along" with the behaviors which are too often assumed to be the norm for college students. I know that. But the world in which you live is too tolerant of such and it is your place to bear witness to the path you have chosen and to the way of living which you have chosen.
I am in such anguish over the death of Tucker Hipps and all that has followed it. My prayers this morning were for those who may now be caught up in the group-think which emerged in the immediate aftermath and now must be maintained out of some sense of duty to others. It upsets me too in that it provides the detractors of college life and college students to say, "See, that is what they are like." when you and I know that is NOT what you are like.
You have reason to worry about rejection in the "world" in which you live. Standing up for a way of life that is based on the Word and the grace of Christ will put you out of step with the world you too often see on a college campus. But that vision of a world is not the whole reality; it is not even the majority.
Read John 15 today. And consider how you might reflect the world as you have come to understand it to be. And as opportunity presents itself, stand up for that world and in opposition to one in which death and heartbreak are forced upon us.
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