We are Meant to be Different

As Christians its hard when we don’t fit in, our human nature wants us to be like everyone else. We want to do the same things as them, act the same way as them, treat people the same way as them. But we aren’t supposed to. We are completely different than people that live for this world and we are meant to be that way!

Christian is not just a title we give ourselves because we believe that Christ died for our sins. Being a Christian is a way of life. Because when you are a Christian you are basing your life on Christ. You are trying to do what He wants, act how He wants, and treat people how He wants. Being a Christian is more than just a title. It is a transformation. Because when you love Christ you want to do everything you can to serve, honor, thank, and praise Him. How do you do that? By living how He would have you live. And not only that, but when you are Christian it is God working in and through your life to glorify Him.

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Christ tells us that we are not going to be loved by the world. That we will be outcasts and that’s hard for us to accept. We are surrounded by people who tell us we are not good enough, we are not smart enough, we are not enough, period. And we want to believe that. We want to give in to the ways of that world in order to be enough, but no matter what we do or say we will never be enough in the eyes of the world. There will always be someone who is better or smarter. Always. But that’s okay because as Christians we are not supposed to be competing for the acceptance of the world. Because we have already been accepted by the most important being in the universe, God. He sees that we are not enough, He knows that we can never be enough, but He loves us anyway. We have nothing of value to offer God. He chose us, as broken, beaten, worthless humans to be His own. Why? Because He loves us and for that reason only. Not only does God remind us that we are His but He reminds us why we shouldn’t strive to please the world. The world is fleeting, it will be destroyed. But God is not. He is everlasting. He is never changing.

John 15:19

If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

1 John 2:15-17

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

God says that even though the world hates us, it is going to help us. It’s going to strengthen our faith in Christ. It is going to show us that God is all powerful, all knowing, all loving and that no matter what we go through He will always be with us. He is using the world to test us, but God does not test us beyond our limits, instead He uses our limits to instill in us the characteristics of the Spirit. We are able to learn these things through the acknowledgment that they come from God; that the things happening in our lives are not out of mere coincidence but out of God’s will for our life.

Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Galatians 5:22-25 The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Our purpose on this earth is to love God and to spread God’s love. We are meant to show God’s love in the way we act, in the way we speak, in the way we present ourselves, and in the way we care for others. Why do we do this? Because we love God and want others to experience His love. Because we know that actions speak louder than words. Because the most important thing in our life should be God, and everything we do should point to Him. When we do this we prosper, we reap the gifts God has given us. We experience His love in fullness and help others experience His love in the same way. Being a witness for Christ is our biggest challenge, because when we take Christ's name upon ourselves others expect how we act to be how He acts. That's a lot to take on, but we are not doing it alone. God is right next to us helping us. When we spend time with God and don't take His love for granted we will yield His fruit and prosper. And as a result of that others will come to know Christ and be transformed by his grace and truth, not through our own works, but through God's gracious power.

Psalm 1:1-3

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.

1 John 2:6

Anyone who says he is a Christian should live as Christ did.