Our Challenge in the "World"

I loved this one, Man it was good! Sorry for the late post this is still week 2 for me.
I have never viewed the world in the way that DJ talks about it here and the way that Jesus refers to it in this chapter. Our world is really just an organized society trying to function without God, Jesus says, "holy father, keep them in your name". Keep them identified in you, but our world tries to do everything else, society tells us what a happy life should look like or what should bring joy. Jesus did not come to change this idea but instead he came to challenge us to stop living like this. He challenges the world to stop being the world! I love this line, Jesus empowers us christians to not fall into this category, to not become part of the world but instead to walk into that world, into that darkness and bring the light of Christ. As DJ puts it, the church is the only place left in the world where the world no longer exists. I love vs. 18 as it says that just as Jesus was sent into the world so are we sent into the world. How crazy is this? just as Jesus was sent to embrace the sin and suffering of the world and so are we. But what does it look like for us to actually live this out?
Our world is full of disaster, people put their identities in the worst of things and people walk the streets broken and shattered. That is our mission field, the world. Jesus says we are the salt of the earth, as christians we have the mission to keep the earth from going dark. As we walk these things out we are kept safe as Jesus prays for us from the heavenly realms and keeps us free from the evil one.
The biggest thing that sticks out to me is that we are sent into this world. I think I really needed to hear this too because I have not been seeking the Lord out daily as I should be, I have not been embracing the hurt of this world. I am in so many places right now where I can do that and I know that God has placed me in these areas fro a reason, I think its about time that I start looking at that reason.