Saints in Caesar's Household!

E. Stanley Jones was a missionary, a theologian, and a prolific writer. In his devotional book titled In Christ he gives some helpful words on what it means to be in Christ and in the world but not of it:

"'Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household.' (Phil. 4:21.) Someone has defined a saint as 'one who tries a little harder.' That is a false notion of a saint--a person who struggles hard to be good, who whips up the will. The New Testament type of saint is different; the saint is not one who tries hard to be good, but one who surrenders to Goodness, to Jesus; not one who whips up the will, but who surrenders the will, not one who resists primarily, but who receives primarily. New Testament prescription: 'Live in union with Christ,' and the sainthood takes care of itself, automatically. 'In union with Christ,' His goodness is your goodness, His saintliness is your saintliness--unconsciously so. A conscious saintliness is less than saintly. Like Moses, we do not know that our face shines. But it does!

"Note the environment of this saintliness: 'Caesar's household.' Of all places! Caesar's household--a place of intrigue, of lust of the flesh, and of lust of the spirit for power; no one was safe from whispering tongues. Comparable to this is the situation in the Nizam's palace in Hyderabad, where no two of his numerous wives are allowed to speak to each other; three guards watch each one night and day! Saintliness out of that? It happened in Caesar's household! Paul knew, for he was a prisoner in one of Caesar's household prisons. If by remaining in union with Christ the members of Caesar's household became saints, living as they did in two worlds at once, then it is possible to be a saint anywhere. A friend of mine, high up in India's government, is called 'A sadhu (holy man) in Government.' He lives in a sticky environment, but none of it sticks to him. He simply lives in union with Christ day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment, and he emerges an unconscious saint.

"O God, if I have to live in a little Caesar's household, where I am daily subjected to temptation to respond in kind, let me remember that I belong to Thy household even when my body has to live in Caesar's. Let me absorb Thy goodness amid this badness. Amen.

"[We] live the heavenly life amid a very hellish environment."