Day 2580 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.
John 15:19 NIV
Not of this world. It's one of those things that has become sort of trendy faith thing. You see the stickers on cars and catch people wearing NOTW shirts. But it's more than a logo. It's more than some catchy phrase that we utter to make us feel good. It's the truth. It's a fact. It's a reminder that we're not here for what so many are chasing after. We're given the opportunity to reach for something that this world can't contain.
We've been talking about rejection and fitting in and all these human desires to be accepted and loved. We're taught that the approval of those around us is where we find our worth and so we take on this mindset of doing whatever it takes to be who everyone else wants us to be. We bend, twist, conform, and give away the individuality of who God made us just so we can become what someone else wants instead.
"Don't chase acceptance, you'll lose too much to get it." That's something that I came up with a while back and it's become one of my rules for my life. I've chased acceptance. I've tried to be what everyone wanted me to be. I've allowed myself to conform to the world and what everyone around me was doing so that I could feel like I belonged to something. And I've learned the hard way that constantly chasing that approval brings us to yet another crossroads in life.
At some point we have to choose whether we're going to keep trying to figure out what everyone else wants so that we can become it, or if we're going to be who God made us and let the world handle it however it wants to. Just know, and I mean this from personal experience, we will never be able to do enough, change enough, or conform enough to gain anything that lasts in this place. We can never give away enough to please everyone around us.
Friends, I know choosing the path that will likely bring hatred and persecution isn't easy. It's not easy to consider a life of not fitting in and being liked when so many are going the other way. It's not something that makes sense according to how we've been taught to think. But as hard, crazy, or unconventional as it may seem, it's the only path worth taking. Being who God made us to be is all that matters because it's the only way to do what He put us here to do. And whether we realize it or not, people are relying on us to be who He made us to be.
If we were meant to be like the world, then God would have made us like the world. But He made us different. He calls us to be different. He calls us to ignore the hatred that following Christ will bring. He calls us to look past the judgement and ridicule that being different from what's considered normal will bring. He asks us to remember that the only name that matters is Christian. Follower of Christ, not follower of this world. Servant of the King, not servant to the opinions of those around us.
So be who God made you to be. Yes, you'll be different in a place where different is often cast aside or even hated. But as we discussed yesterday, that puts us in some amazing company! Don't give away what God put in you just so you can fit in while you're here. This part of the ride doesn't last forever. In truth, it's an honor to be hated by a world that's so in love with sin. It's an honor to be labeled by those who live according to the broken ways of a fallen world. It’s an honor to be seen as an outsider here, because it means that we’re living lives for something other than what everyone else is chasing.
I don't want to be a friend of this world. Been there, done that, have the regrets that come along with it. Don't settle for worldly acceptance. Don’t settle for anything less than being called a Christian. Even if it’s used in a way that’s meant to sound harsh and critical, that's the only name that will ever matter!
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