Day 2618 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

1 Peter 4:4 NIV

Yesterday we talked about this struggle that we often face in dealing with the responsibility to change that our faith requires. There are so many reasons that we come up with to pull out and avoid having to change. The time it takes. The effort involved. And even the people around us who seem to like us as we are. And all of these excuses just build up and compound on top of each other until we've become convinced that changing just isn't worth it.

And so we settle for staying the same so that we don't have to go through the time and effort it takes or endure the loss of things that we had grown accustomed to. As we discussed yesterday, we're creatures of habit. We do so much settling for good enough because change is hard. Change does lead us into a life that we're not used to. Change may even bring about strained or perhaps broken relationships as we take on new priorities and perspectives that we learn in our transition to a new life.

While we're used to our way of doing things, those around us are used to us as well. And when we hear about Christ and accept Him into our hearts and our lives start changing, well, those around us will inevitably start seeing those changes too. And unfortunately, our world isn't very adaptive or accepting. Again, people just like things to stay the same, and whenever changes come around, it can quickly lead to this realization that paths are diverging, people are changing, and the way things have been just might not be how they stay going forward.

Sadly, as you may have noticed, our world definitely isn't very receptive or kind to those who are different. And well, the fact is that Christ makes us different. Now when you put those two together, it makes it easy to see that choosing a life of faith in a world that doesn't hold a very high view of such a thing is going to bring about some friction and strife. And circling back to our desire for comfort and our aversion to change, the friction we face when Christ starts changing our hearts could very quickly cause us to question if a life of faith is really worth it.

And when you add on top of that the anger and hatred and persecution that we face along this road, well, people start running back to the world and the way of life they'd always known. Look, we're going to be hated because of the differences that Christ leads us to making in our lives. Those around us may not get it. They don’t want to. They just want to stay the same. Those who don't understand or don't agree will throw stones, call names, and judge incessantly in the attempt to reel us back to the status quo that everyone has decided to follow.

Still, through it all, we're the ones who are responsible for the choices we make and the lives we lead. We cannot allow outside pressure from a world that's stuck in its ways to keep us stuck in the lives we've always lived. Faith requires change. Salvation demands repentance. Following Christ means leaving behind everything we've ever known and stepping into a whole new life built on very different aspirations. That will bring some judgement. We will lose some things. We may even lose some friends.

But folks, please remember that this isn't our home. While making our stay here a little more comfortable by surrounding ourselves with people who like us and applaud everything we do seems to be all that many are looking to find, this simply isn't everything. These lives will end, no matter how comfortable or popular they may be. Do not run from planting roots in Christ. The world may not get it. Some of those around you may not get it. But in the end, when this earth and its "normal" way of doing things has passed away, our choice to follow Christ will lead to an eternity that is full of all the comfort and peace that we may not be able to find here.

At some point, we just have to choose between now and later. Just know that friendship with the world means enmity against God. This world doesn't like God and we can't expect them to like us when we choose to live for Him either. That's just the cards we're dealt. Now we have to choose how we're going to play that hand.

The whole point is that we have to decide if we’re good with continuing to live the reckless, wild, carefree, and careless way of life that we’ve known. Or, are we going to lay that all down at the foot of the cross and accept Christ’s offer of something different? The fact of the matter is that the cross changes everything, or at least it should. We can’t come to know what Jesus has done for us and simply keep living the kind of life that He came to rescue us from. We can’t keep doing as we’ve done and think that we’re saved. If our lives are the same now as they were before, then Christ isn’t in us. And we’re not yet in Him either.

Friends, this world wants us to blend in and do as we’ve done. It’s easier. It’s comfortable. It’s normal. It’s clearly popular. And when we make that choice to start going against the grain, those who crave normal and comfortable and popular are going to do whatever they can to beat us back down and get us back to blending in so that they don’t feel different themselves. Different will stand out and therefore be hated and judged. But folks, if we’re truly going to go all in on following Christ to the promise He came to give us, then different is our only choice!

And when all is said and done, we don’t need a whole bunch of people who can testify to the fact that we fit in and made everyone feel comfortable because we lived just like them. We need to be able to say that we lived differently and followed a different set of priorities during our time here. While many won’t like that we choose to follow Christ and leave all the worldly games behind, they’ll be the ones who could say just how differently we did things.

#LeaveNoSoulUntold