Up to the point we are taken away
Omega.
Up to the point we are taken away, either by physical death or by the rapture, we are in the world but not of it, or that is how it should be.
"Where the body is, there shall the eagles be gathered together." I have seen it translated this way too. As I do not read Hebrew, Latin or Greek, I have to rely on the accuracy of translations I have not made myself.
Ever since Jesus, there are those who would carry us off into pointless discussion. The main thing is for us to be one in the faith and that comes by putting Jesus where He needs to be, first and foremost in our lives.
There are those Christians who stay in what amounts to a spiritually dead church body rather than finding themselves a better spiritual home, perhaps for old times or habit or hoping God will use them to reach the body around them, mostly pershaps because they are in a rut. And they become unproductive. But still God is sovereign. we may plant seeds, He waters, and the seed we may plant, another may do the reeping.
Churches are not apt to discuss many of the things which really should be tackled, and even to the point of having some discussions privately about the end times and who is who in that case, studying the Koran and Hadith, trying even to find out for their governments what would be the next move of the terrorists, is risky as it does take their eyes off their goal. Even if the churches would have the boldness to preach what should be said, even Jesus had his inner circle of those He really poured His life into. Discipleship, not just sitting in the pews, Christian mentoring of those with the skill and talent to understand and to communicate the Gospel. True, we should all be ready to give an account whenever asked of the faith within us. We read and at some point, the scriptures under our belt become useful. Not all are as good at writing or at preaching though they may have a sincere love of Jesus. Those whose gifts are into communicating, have a greater responsiblity to maintain and to stand for the purity of the faith.
Being curious and wanting to know isn't always the best and can lead to error. And things which are evil of themselves, they place themselves where they are more prone to spiritual attack because why would Satan bother to attack a Christian who wasn't doing anything? Why should he waste his time? But I do feel that learning about Islam isn't amiss in that one must know enough of his adversary to know how to pursuade him out of his error.
Currently in Egypt Coptic Christians mark themselves to show they are Christians. Those Christian girls who are stolen, kidnapped if you will and are forceably converted to Islam, new I.D. card, drugged, raped, married off to a Muslim, have this "mark" burned off with acid, a cross tattoo. Nasty story, but quite similar ones happen by the week. The families of the Copts feel that if they mark themselves, it assures them a margin of safety. But those who feel they need to follow Islam to becoming the true followers of their faith, have at hand a "marked" group that is their prey. It certainly is easy to see how the inverse of marking themselves so that those without the mark will be ostracized and ultimately starved to death, will happen. And in the light of what happened to Teri Schiavo, have a good advocate for the same with the liberal press.
We each have an inward life hid with God that God sees and not outsiders. It is this that He sees that makes us sheep and not goats and ultimately why we are taken or not.
If I have offended you I am sorry.
Thank you for your reproof.