Guest Author: Sherry Thomas

I don’t know if anyone is more uncomfortable thinking back on their junior high and high school years than yours truly. Seriously – I was such a dork! All I wanted was to be accepted by the general population and quite honestly, I never was. I was never bullied or anything and I had a few friends but basically I think I was just more of a “nobody” than a “somebody.” Well, I (like many teenagers) blamed my parents for not letting me join in certain activities, buy the right clothes or get a SPIRAL PERM! In my mind those were the things that kept me from being cool and from being accepted. I realized much later in life that ultimately, it did not matter what others thought of me, the truth was I was never comfortable in my own skin. Even if my parents let me go to a school dance, bought me the Reebok (not ProWings) high tops and let me fry my hair with a spiral perm I might have maybe looked like everyone else but in my heart I still would have felt different. The purpose of this blog is not to explain how God radically changed the way I thought of myself and that I now feel accepted everywhere. In truth, I still deal with slipping back into those particular insecurities all of the time. The purpose of this blog is to either remind you or to enlighten you – if you didn’t know – that it is part of God’s plan that His children should never fit in…

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul

1 Peter 2: 9 and 11

In verse 9 we are shown the nice side of being a Christian. After all, we are called a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people. Who wouldn’t love to be described as “chosen, royal, holy and special?” Then we come to verse 11. The New King James Version of the Bible (what is shown above) calls us “sojourners and pilgrims.” Okay, not too bad, but the New American Standard Bible uses the words “aliens and strangers” and the International Standard Version uses “aliens and exiles.” This is where my inner-dork screams, ”WHY?!?!” On top of the fact that no one will ever confuse me with a super model, why does God want me to behave and live in such a way that others will think I’m weird? Why do I have to be referred to as an “alien” or an “exile” or a “stranger?”

The answer is pretty simple. I belong to God, the world belongs to Satan (2 Corinthians 4:4). I live in a world that hates Jesus and abhors God. I can talk about my inner spirit as long as I don’t call it the “Holy Spirit.” Even in our own country, which was founded on Biblical principles, there are people that will not rest until all evidence of Christianity is removed from everything official (i.e. taking “Under God” out of the pledge of allegiance). You see, in order to fit in and be at peace with everyone I have to hide my Christianity.

But being an “alien” is not just a side effect of being a Christian in this world, it also serves a real purpose. Verse 9 says “that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of the darkness into His marvelous light.” Have you ever met the self-assured nerd or dork? Have you ever seen someone like Lizzie Velasquez who loves life though she has a disfiguring disorder? I have seen a handful of these people and I have wondered to myself how they are able to seemingly be at peace given what life has handed them and how most people treat them. This is the exact same thought the world should have when they watch a Christian. People should wonder what it is about the Christian that allows them to be joyful in a world that doesn’t understand them and frankly doesn’t like them. The world may not always appreciate the difference but they should see one so that the question comes to their mind and there is at least a chance for them to hear the name of Jesus. Another verse comes to mind:

Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 10:32-33

So what about you? Has being a Christian made you stand out so that others might wonder what makes you different? Or does your lifestyle deny any visible proof that Jesus is your personal Lord and Savior? When you are surrounded by unbelievers is the only difference between you and them that on an occasional Sunday morning you might be busy? Do you dress as someone that sees their body as the temple of a Holy God (I Corinthians 6:19-20)? Do you listen to music and watch things on TV that blaspheme the name of God? You may not agree with it but are you supporting it with your money and your time? Is it embarrassing to thank the Lord for your food in the presence of unbelievers?

A good friend of mine reminded me just today that you cannot call someone out on something you are convicted of and expect them to change. She is right; it is only the Holy Spirit who can convict. I am not writing this blog to convict anyone but I can ask you the questions and you can ask the Holy Spirit if He feels a change needs to be made. I also want to make it clear that I don’t write this blog as the picture of a model Christian. Daily, the Holy Spirit shows me areas of failure but I can rejoice in that because it means He hasn’t given up…God has use for me yet or He wouldn’t bother trying to fix me. The same is true for you.