Daring to be Different

Walking the streets of London I certainly saw some different things. Clearly the half naked British gentleman, juggling knives, on stilts, in his undies was one of those different things! At first I laughed, shook my head, and wondered why. However, that is exactly why; he wants to be remembered for being different. Many of the other street performers I saw that day are already slipping through the cracks in my memory. The musicians, artists, actors, etc. However the guy in red undies will (unfortunately?) never be forgotten!

Sunday I was blessed with a great teaching from one of our Pastors on just that. OK, well not 'just that', but about daring to be different (http://t.co/XT2udEm7). We spent some time in Acts and went over some great history and other lessons, but in the end, am I going to walk away daring to be different, or just more informed? Karl said something that really stuck with me.

"If you were sitting next to Paul, you would hear the Gospel." Not in a weird way, not in a Scripture crushing you over the head way, but in an inspiring way.

If someone sat next to me, would they know the hope that is in me? Would they hear the Gospel? I think at times we are good and sounding Spiritual saying that we're waiting for God to open that door or opportunity to share the Good News. However are we really listening to God, waiting, asking God when, looking for opportunities, or is comfort driving that decision to hold off?

"If I really believe, that what I believe, is really real" (Thanks Del) then what on earth am I doing sometimes? I live, laugh, and love because I have been gifted with it. And I live, laugh, and love even more because I get to do that forever. Why on earth would I not walk around jumping for joy all day long? I know there is pain, suffering, challenges, and uncertainty to some (many) things. I'm not expecting to be flawless, and I don't have all the knowledge of the Father (and for those of us who like control, that's a struggle at times). However am I going to be renewed and transformed, or am I going to blend in with culture, disappear, and just wait on The Day?

I think many that call on the name of Christ still struggle with some basic beautiful Truths. Many of us grew up reciting (and some still do) creeds of our faith. Do we believe those words? Don't just run through the idea that "Yeah, Jesus rose from the dead". Do you get that? He was DEAD! He came back to LIFE! This isn't a story of your flowerbed that got a little yellow and you threw some water on and it got green again. A human body was dead ... for days ... and then walked again! Isn't that enough to make you stop and ponder? I'm not going to go down an apologetic path here, but my faith in that incident is not because some really nice pastor told me so. That's a pretty awesome story to tell ... and there is some Good News that comes with that story on why is was and had to be told.

While just that belief alone makes me different, it is not very bold and daring of me if I keep it to myself ...

God loves you and so do I,
~Me