Day 2619 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

1 Peter 1:17 NIV

Misunderstood. Going back, I can say that's something that I've always kind of felt. Misunderstood. I've tried to find different ways to describe it. Different names to give how I live and how I see things and the way in which I think. Old soul. Old school. Laid back. Just quiet, reserved, not a lot to say. And I've had others take notice of the fact that I don't necessarily do as everyone else does. But as I've grown up and made it a priority to learn more about faith and the Bible and figure out who God made me to be, I've found this incredibly deep gratitude in the fact that He made me different.

Yesterday we talked about how different isn't always seen as a good thing in our world. Our society just wants everyone to fit in, sit down where they tell you, and go with the flow so that nobody gets their feathers ruffled by something or someone who breaks through the walls that they've constructed to give the majority this sense of comfort that's found in everyone adopting this mundane and tempered way of living. Don't rock the boat. Don't go against the grain. Don't speak unless it's the carefully crafted message that we've been instructed to share by the powers that be.

But, as I said in yesterday's post, if we're truly going to follow Christ then different is our only choice. We can't fit in. We can't go with the flow of filth that our world has deemed okay. We can't sit down and shut up and keep this power of the Gospel locked inside while we watch those around us be led like sheep to the slaughter. But man, standing up, not fitting the mold, and living different lives or sharing different messages is the quickest way to be noticed and become hated in a world that places such a high value on conformity and complacency.

The nail that sticks out the farthest gets hit first.

The pressure that our world places on us to fit where we're told to fit and be who we're expected to be is incredibly powerful. And the penalty for not caving is pretty severe. Discussed that yesterday a little bit. Being hated. Being judged. Being looked at like weirdos. Being belittled. Being undermined. Being attacked. Being persecuted. Being excluded. Being rejected. Those who don't do as they're told are not going to find this world to be a very hospitable place. Oh, it's nice and welcoming to those who don't mind being instructed on how they're to live. But you have the audacity to do your own thing and follow a different path and you'd better watch your back!

What we need to remember when the pressures of this world start pressing in on us is that we don't look to the world for our identity. Our identity is found in the cross, not the crowd. We don't need this world to love us, God already does. We don't need to figure out ways to better fit in down here as we already belong somewhere else. This world has nothing to offer us because Christ gave everything He had to give us everything we'll ever need.

If we truly want to make that choice to spend our lives in this place calling on the name of Christ and leaning on the power and love and mercy of our Father, then we cannot continue to give any gravity to what this world thinks. We cannot continue to live in fear of what this place or the people within may think, say, or do to us. We cannot continue to live our lives in reverence of a fallen society. We're called to live out our time here in reverent fear of the Lord alone. That gift of what was done on the cross is what deserves our respect and gratitude. This world has never and will never do anything nor offer anything that comes close to what we have in Jesus.

Friends, stop thinking of this world as our home. Yes, we're here for a good bit. We've spent a lot of years on this ball and may have many to come. But seeing this world as our home only encourages us to put down roots and settle in here. And doing that will require us to adopt the ways of the world and live in fear of falling out of the good graces of the almighty popular and desired way of doing things. Trying to make a home here will lead us to forgetting that Christ has already readied a place for us elsewhere. And taking our eyes off of what's to come will very likely cost us the opportunity to see what He had in store for those who put Him first to the very end.

I know it's hard to be different. Our world has all sorts of interesting ways to describe those who stand out and live against the grain. But their words mean nothing. Their opinions mean nothing. Their approval or rejection mean nothing. So why live our lives giving so much respect to things that have no meaning? And yet, that's what living in fear of those around us causes us to do. It sets our hearts on doing whatever it takes to be liked and to fit in and to feel like we belong down here. But is that what we want? To settle for the here and now? To trade what's been promised for what's passing away?

God didn't make us who we are only for us to trade it in for the model that the world wants us to be. He made us differently for a reason. He leads us along a different path for a reason. He sees things and does things differently and helps us learn to do the same for a reason. And that's because His way is higher. His plans are better. And His promise is priceless. Don't give that away just because it's hard. Don't run from the path He's laid out for us in Christ just because the world doesn't like it. Don't allow yourself to keep forgetting that you were bought with a price that this world would never pay to keep you around.

We are foreigners here. Strangers in a strange land. A people who are just passing through on our way to something far different. Don't let this world or the pressure it places on you for being different cause you to lose sight of the big picture. Following Christ and fearing God and God alone will never be what's popular or accepted in our world. It's too hard. It's too upright. It's too honorable. But as hard as it may be to do what's different in a world that will try to beat the different out of us, it's the only path that leads to eternal peace.

As I said yesterday, we have to always remember that God is looking at what we do. The choices we make. The lives that we live. Not what anyone else thinks about it. We're here to live for Him, keep Him first, and refuse to let anything or anyone pull us off of that path that He has called us to walk. The world may judge us for not fitting in, but their judgement carries no weight in God's eyes. His judgement is the only opinion that we should ever concern ourselves with because His judgement determines our eternal residence. And considering He alone holds that power and that right, He's the only one that we ought to fear and respect and honor and live for.

Just keep in mind that it's better to be seen as foreigners that don't belong in this world than to one day be seen as foreigners who don't belong in Heaven because we spent more time trying to build something here than focusing on what Christ built for us there.

#LeaveNoSoulUntold