Lighthouse
It’s not unreasonable to be critical about your environments - where you visit, where you live and who you are with. 1 Corinthians 15:33 is clear: “Bad company corrupts good character”. We are expected to be prudent when it comes to our locations, but it doesn’t mean we are assured living in a bubble is the answer either.
My wife and I recently moved to Los Angeles from Orange County. In “OC” we had a solid community of like-minded friends, were surrounded by Church culture and strong conservative values. It was largely pro-God and a stand for Christian principles. After four years we had a work opportunity present itself along with the prospect of moving to LA, which is a notoriously culturally-dark place. It is the antithesis of what we had found in the OC community.
The idea of moving was hard, but nonetheless we knew it made sense given our new jobs. We were apprehensive at first because the reality of spiritual warfare is on display when forces for God are placed in the middle of Satan’s cobweb. Our exposure to everything the Bible stands against was fully engaged, and it was absolutely exhausting. We mentally battled if we had made the right decision moving until we remembered our calling as Christians to be “the salt and the light of the earth” (Matthew 5:13-16).
When I meditate on that passage I see two things: the first is to understand that salt implies taste. In order for you to experience something salty, it has to be touched- which implies proximity. You can only taste and touch that which you are close to. And the second is seeing that light implies darkness. For light to be seen it must be surrounded by darkness, and we are being called to be that light. To interject ourselves to places where we alone must be a stand for righteousness, and be close enough for our influence to be felt.
It would be quite comfortable to maintain a life in a homogenous community where everyone lived by the Word, but the reality is that is an unrealistic expectation. As the body of Christ we are called to be the light of the World - no matter where we live or where we go, we are living reflections of the Spirit within us. And to remember we have the full armor of God to equip us for every environment we find ourselves in.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil and heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground” Ephesians 6:10-13