Illustration by Mary Power

The giant, white starship fills the screen, then cruises powerfully into the black depths of space. On board the Enterprise everything is perfectly clean and pure. No one perspires, no one leaves dirty dishes in the sink. People rarely cry.

The characters are largely untouched by the outside world. A planet may explode, and only a slight frown of puzzlement or dismay will crease the captain's brow. Everyone is competent. Everything is under control.

Occasionally in their quest for justice the intrepid crew ventures into a hostile world. As the matter transporter beams them into the most forbidding environments, they are secure in the knowledge that at the slightest hint of trouble they can be saved by uttering the famous phrase, "Beam us up, Scotty!" Immediately they are removed from the scene of potential trouble, pain, or anguish and restored to the pristine security of the ship. A change of clothes and they are back in control.

Pointy Ears and Funny Leotards

Star Trek could be a parable describing Christian involvement in the world. We spend much of our lives building and securing our own version of the Enterprise, a lifestyle full of nice people and positive experiences. Occasionally we venture out from the safety of our spiritual base into the murky atmosphere of this messy world. Our goal is to swoop down on one or more of the unfortunate citizens of the world and bring them back to our safe, spiritual shelter where they will become as nice, clean-cut, and upstanding as ourselves. For this sort of task a transporter beam would certainly come in handy.

There are problems, however, with a "Star Trek" approach to Christian life and ministry. One is that most don't want to be beamed up. From their point of view, we are the ones with the pointy ears and the funny leotards. They perceive correctly that we are not really interested in understanding them or caring for them in a costly way. They wonder what planet we come from and how we could possibly understand what they are going through.

The "Star Trek" mentality also encourages us to believe in our own superiority. We give the impression to the lost and to one another that we have our act together, that we are basically free from struggles and practically without sin. We forget that we are a people who have experienced mercy. That our ministry is by grace. That the treasure of the gospel is in jars of clay to show that the all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

Embracing Our World

After Jesus had called His disciples, He did an unusual thing. He took them with Him into the world. Not the nice world of spiritual retreats and controlled learning environments, but the world of prostitutes, hypocrites, and the demon-possessed. The world of disease, death, and mourning. The world of the greedy and corrupt. A world of late nights, raging storms, and responsibilities. They watched Jesus entering strongly into that world, healing, teaching, meeting needs, touching, showing compassion, rebuking.

The security He offered them was not in isolation, but in a relationship of dependence on Him. The context of that relationship was the real situations of life in their world. Even as they faced His leaving them physically, He prayed, "not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one" (Jn. 17:15).

As followers of Jesus Christ, God calls us into the world, living out distinctive lives among people who do not know Him (1 Pet. 2:12). We are aliens and strangers, staying for a while in a world we cannot call home. Our true home is elsewhere. But for the course of our lives we belong here, just as Jesus belonged here.

The particular circumstances and experiences of our lives matter. Our work, our relationships with others, the issues facing our society all have significance. As confusing and painful as they sometimes are, they are to be embraced rather than avoided. They are not just things we dabble in while we are waiting for Heaven. They are the arena in which our relationship with God grows, where we fulfill His purposes for our lives, and where we have the opportunity to touch profoundly the lives of other people.

Embracing our world may mean honestly facing painful realities about our lives—perhaps sin or failure, sickness, unemployment, bereavement, or loneliness. If we have never allowed ourselves to struggle and experience God's comfort in these things, we will have little to say to a hurting world.

It will mean compassionate involvement with the lost, entering into the fellowship of Christ's sufferings. This could mean really listening to the office moaner over lunch or inviting the single parent next door to a family activity. It might involve getting together with some friends and confronting an injustice or caring for the needy. We know that when we do these things we often come away hurt, tired, confused, perhaps out of a job—but always hungry to meet with God.

Security in Jesus

God calls His people to seek their security and comfort not in avoidance of the world, but in a relationship with Him. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Mt. 11:28). Our friends, workmates, and neighbors don't need a super Christian, but someone who shares their humanity and knows the life-giving touch of God in everyday life. Let's keep working at throwing open the doors of the Enterprise and entering strongly into the world and work to which God has called us.

Ian John directs the Navigator ministry in Victoria state, Australia, and is developing a community ministry in the city of Melbourne. This article grew out of many years of seeking to relate the gospel to people grappling with the complexities of modern life. He concludes, "Isolation not only restricts our ministry in the world, it also hinders our own growth toward maturity."

His favorite verse is Jn. 1:14 because "it captures for me the ministry of Jesus: the glory of God entering everyday life, expressing Himself to us in grace and truth."