Lenten Devotional | March 22, 2012 | Joy Ahead!

There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure... trials. 

- 1 Peter 1:6

The Bible tells us in Romans 12 not to be conformed to this world. But what does that mean? The J. B. Phillips translation puts it this way: "Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold." The idea is that we are not to pretend that we belong to the world.

We live in a world system that is spiritually bankrupt and hostile to God. John the apostle warns, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world" (1 John 2:15–16).

Sometimes as Christians, we pretend to be something we are not. But that is what the Bible says we should not do. We are children of God. So let's behave accordingly. Better yet, let's be proud of it. Let's not hide our light. Let's not be ashamed of our faith.