Weirdness

All my life, I have been a little... different. Not just me, but my whole family. So different, in fact, that when we moved to a small town in Colorado, they were so curious about us that they sent a reporter over, as well as a photographer. They did an entire article on our family, complete with pictures of us praying and various other things. And that's just one example of ways people have responded to us. We've never really "fit in", even with people who are Christians. We're definitely not in the "cool" crowd. So, yes, we admit it: we're weird.

At least according to the standards and expectations of this world we live in.

Most of the time, I am rather proud of that fact. :) I am so used to it that it rarely bothers me. Every once in a long while, though, I wonder. What would it be like to blend in for once? What would it be like to not have people coming up to you constantly and asking you weird questions? ("Why do you have long hair?" "Why do you wear dresses?" "Are you, like, Amish or something?" etc.)

What would it be like to be "normal"?

Just a quick look around shows me what it would be like, and from what I see and hear, I am convinced, once again, that I most assuredly do not want to be normal. Forget normal. Weird is fine. Great, actually.

Besides, do you think Jesus was normal? Was He in the so-called "cool" crowd? Nope. He was definitely out of the ordinary. He wanted the little children to stay when others were trying to send them away. He healed people on the Sabbath, even though that was looked down on by the religious leaders. He didn't end up following His earthly father's trade. He, a completely innocent person, died for the sins of the world.

So, shouldn't I, as a follower of Christ, be different? Shouldn't I be content with-perhaps even proud of- my "weird" status? Yes! As Christians, we are not called to fit in. It's not part of the job description. Sorry.

If we are just like everyone else around us, why would they wonder about us? Why would they wonder about our joy, our hope, and our peace? Why would they ask us what is different about us?

If Jesus doesn't make any difference in how we live-- do we really follow Him? If we are showing them that He doesn't make any difference in our lives, why would they want Jesus?

The answer, in case you're wondering (:P) is that they won't.

So got out there a be a little weird--like Jesus!

"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. " Matthew 5:14

“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also." John 15:18-20