Immersion as Love

What does it mean to be in the world, to be immersed in it, not just to dabble in it?

Immersion and dabbling are different. Dabbling is going in and then quickly coming out. Immersing is losing track of time. It is putting your entire heart into it. Into loving the world. The people of this world.

Picture yourselves going to hang out with prostitutes, or brothel girls—to eat with them, socialize with them, live where they live. Stop. In this imagery, did you try to immerse in their culture, laugh with them? Or did you just sit awkwardly with them and observe them and try to have “polite” but reserved talk due to excessive culture shock?

Apostle Paul says that he became weak to reach the weak, and he became whatever other groups were in order to reach them. In this he did not mean that he compromised his moral standards, but that he tried to position himself among them, rather than above them or outside of them. He tried to relate to them, not focus on his discomfort, the culture shock or awkwardness. Eat with the prostitutes; hang out with the tax collectors.

Let us give our hearts to love those whom God loves, to be in the world, immersed in it, to “lose track of time”, putting our whole hearts into loving and becoming whatever is called for to reach the lost.

Lord, teach me what this means. Teach me how to live.
No. Show me how to die. So I can live for you. Shores of Grace