M-G: 1.2.13 // A World of Wolves

In the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood, Little Red was instructed by her mother to take a pot of butter and some custard for her ailing grandmother who lived in the forest. Her mother warned her to be careful not to stray from the path, to keep on going, and not to talk to any strangers. Taking a basket of food she did, but she was not careful to observe her mother’s admonitions. We are well acquainted with her encounters with the wolf in the forest and in her grandmother’s house. The woodcutter saved the day, but the outcome of the tale was grim and gruesome. Had Little Red only listened to her mother she would have not found herself in the belly of the wolf along with her sick grandmother!

Spiritually speaking, all believers in Jesus Christ are living in a world of wolves that would rather eat us whole than put up with our "nonsense" (cf. 1 Cor 2:14). It is a world that is very much offended by the messages of Jesus Christ as imposing unwanted values on them. The world system sees the Gospel message as an attempt at colonialism (missionary occupation), infecting a natural habitat (we call a dark dominion) with contrary values and a foreign or alien way of life (the Christ-life), leading ultimately to the destruction of the natural or worldly state of that environment (spiritual darkness, cf. Jn 3:19). 

Interestingly, the inhabitants of this world without Christ have no trouble imposing their views on Christianity, e.g., humanism, evolution, abortion, same-sex marriage, alternative lifestyles, a religious-free government, et cetera, and are very much offended that we oppose such ideas, calling us intolerant and bigoted. Ironically, these same people who claim tolerance and openness have no tolerance for Christianity nor are they open to its claims. They are beside themselves that we do not accept or respect their values, and attempt to characterize our calling their lifestyle, “sin,” as hate speech! If they can’t get rid of us, they expect us to compromise but always note the shifting of positions is always expected on our part. They cannot shift to ours for they lack the Holy Spirit, not that they would move away from their position anyway. 

If there is no compromising on our part, then there are the attempts to quarantine or limit our influence for the sake of “coexisting” on the only known ball of life in the Universe such as taking prayer out of public schools, trying to remove “God” in the pledge of allegiance, doing away with religious symbols in public places, substituting the word holidays for Christmas, and so on. But living in an electronically-tethered world has “shrunk” the earth to where opposite world-views meet more often, and when they do it is like where the boundaries of the Tectonic plates come together, resulting in spiritual geological formations converging, diverging, or transforming. For evangelical believers divergence would be the normal outcome of such a meeting.

If you get the idea that the world system does not want us here as believers in Jesus Christ, you would be correct (Jn 15:18,19)! We are considered outsiders, invaders of sorts, seeking to expand our kingdom in the name of God. Christianity is viewed as the antithesis of everything a world of wolves stands for. The Holy Spirit characterized all that is in the world as – “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” and is not of the Father (1 Jn 2:16). The Greek word translated “world” here is kosmos. In this context kosmos has reference to the world system that is alienated and opposed to anything related to God (including us!), comprised of Satan, demons, and humans united in rebellion against God.1 Ready for the kicker; Jesus knew this world was full of wolves, and sent us out anyway! He told His disciples (applicable to us),

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Mt 7:15). 

"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves” Mt 10:16). 

“Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves” (Lk 10:3). 

Paul said to the elders of the church at Ephesus,

“For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock” (Acts 20:29).  

But Jesus did promise us, "... and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Mt 28:20; cf. Heb 13:5). 

Isn’t it easier to be a saint when there is no sacrifice? How could there not be evidence of sacrifice if we are engaged in the great spiritual conflict between good and evil? The problem is in the engagement, “And it [Christianity] can’t be observed by others because there are too few Christians who are radical enough to manifest what the gospel really looks like.” 2 We must “saint-up” and take our expected cross route in spreading the Gospel to a lost and dying planet of a world packed with wolves that are more than ready to devour us. We are “in” the world [of wolves] but not “of” the world [of wolves, Jn 17:14]. James speaks to those who strike up a friendship with the world in 4:4,

“You're cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way” (The Message). Eventually, the wolf will reveal its fangs to you –  

“‘What big teeth you have Grandma!’ said Red Riding Hood. ‘That's only to EAT YOU BETTER WITH!' said the Wolf. He jumped out from under the blankets and gobbled up Little Red Riding Hood, red cape and all, in a single swallow.” 3 

Unlike Little Red who ignored her mother’s instructions, we need to follow the instructions and admonitions of Scripture in taking the Gospel to a lost and dying humanity, by staying on the path of faith, never stopping or quitting, and never taking the advice of the world on spiritual matters. We need to be wise as serpents but harmless as doves, revealing our faith in living in the midst of a world of wolves ready to display their fangs. <>< 

1. http://michael-gram.blogspot.com/2012/06/m-g-62712-1-john-215-before-  
    you-bite.html
2. The Gospel According to Starbucks, Leonard Sweet, p. 5
3. http://www.longlongtimeago.com/llta_fairytales_redridinghood.html