Jesus says, “Apart from Me, you can do nothing.” Philosopher Dallas Willard suggests that perhaps on the back side of that statement lies the idea that “in general, if we do nothing, it will certainly be without him.” Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing; but if we do nothing, it will be without Him. Where does that leave us? It leaves us completely engaged in this world and completely dependent on its Lord.

If Jesus’ statement about our complete dependence on Him is a source of encouragement for our work in this world, it can also be a reminder to stay completely engaged. Skye Jethani says that God “commissioned His image-bearers to carry his order, beauty, and abundance to the ends of the earth. This mission, frustrated and derailed by our rebellion, can now be reengaged as we are reconciled to God through the cross and made new in Christ.” In other words, Christians—image-bearers reconciled to the Creator—are called to complete engagement in the world. Don’t be discouraged into hiding or evacuating from the world. In a statement that includes a sting, Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “Any attempt to escape from the world must sooner or later be paid for with a sinful surrender to the world.” Ouch!

I know that, for many, the temptation to disengage is intense. But don’t give up! First, it’s not our own strength that gets us through. Apart from Jesus, you can do nothing! But second, He hasn’t called us to nothing. He’s called us, in our various life roles, to bring about order, beauty, and abundance into the world. If we neglect that, what do we expect the world to look like? I used to get overwhelmed thinking about things that I have no control of, and those thoughts will lead to despair or even that sinful surrender to the world that Bonhoeffer speaks of. But what if we worried less about what we can’t do and rather poured prayerful energy into those things that the Lord has called us to? What if each of us cultivated order, beauty, and abundance in our small part of the world? Isn’t that what Jesus calls and equips us to do? Let’s do it! Let’s be completely engaged in our Creator’s world, and let’s rest in being completely dependent on Him in that engagement.

May the Lord bless each of you!