Imagine that you hear about a fall dance at school. A friend tells you that everyone will be dressing up for this dance, so you find a really cute cow costume assuming that she meant it was a Halloween dance. You're dressed up in your cow costume and you get out of the car, and...everyone is wearing dresses and suits.
This is a formal dance, and you are standing outside in a cow costume.
Imagine how out of place you would look and feel in that situation. Maybe you would wait outside for your mom to pick you back up, or you'd walk home, or maybe you would brave it out and pretend that you're a royal cow. Regardless, there would be no way to hide how out of place you are if you go in to that dance.
However, as a Christ follower, the difference between our lives and the lives of people who haven't yet begun a relationship with Christ should be that different.
It's important to note: I'm not saying that non-Christians have all the fun while Christians are staunch and professional or vice versa. However, your passion for Jesus and the change He has made in your life should cause the heads of those around you to turn to Jesus just because of how differently you live. Don't be afraid to stand out for Jesus. You may feel completely alone and singled out at times, but He will never leave you standing alone because you can always be assured of His presence, leading you towards each step of deeper faith and reliance on Him.
And if you are ever stuck in a situation like this, be brave enough to go inside. Remember that what people think of you doesn't matter. God loves you, and that's the only voice that truly matters.
Luke 11:33 No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. (ESV)
John 15:18-19 If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. (ESV)
This is a formal dance, and you are standing outside in a cow costume.
Imagine how out of place you would look and feel in that situation. Maybe you would wait outside for your mom to pick you back up, or you'd walk home, or maybe you would brave it out and pretend that you're a royal cow. Regardless, there would be no way to hide how out of place you are if you go in to that dance.
However, as a Christ follower, the difference between our lives and the lives of people who haven't yet begun a relationship with Christ should be that different.
It's important to note: I'm not saying that non-Christians have all the fun while Christians are staunch and professional or vice versa. However, your passion for Jesus and the change He has made in your life should cause the heads of those around you to turn to Jesus just because of how differently you live. Don't be afraid to stand out for Jesus. You may feel completely alone and singled out at times, but He will never leave you standing alone because you can always be assured of His presence, leading you towards each step of deeper faith and reliance on Him.
And if you are ever stuck in a situation like this, be brave enough to go inside. Remember that what people think of you doesn't matter. God loves you, and that's the only voice that truly matters.
Luke 11:33 No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. (ESV)
John 15:18-19 If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. (ESV)
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