Day 27 - Different is Good

Do you think of yourself as one of the crowd, or do you think of yourself as different? I have been in a photograph with a group of people where it took me a moment to find my face...I just sort of blended in with the crowd. I have also been in photographs where I looked so different from the others in the picture that I was surprised. The only way to describe what I saw is that I seemed to be brighter or glowing. Not like a neon sort of glow, but a glow that comes from deep within. 


God calls those who are His own to be different.

2 Corinthians 6:14-17

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹⁴  Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? ¹⁵ Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with anunbeliever? ¹⁶ Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said,

“ I will dwell in them and walk among them;

And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

¹⁷ “ Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord.

“And do not touch what is unclean;

And I will welcome you.

When He speaks of not being bound together, He does not mean to avoid those who are non-believers altogether. How can you reach the world for Christ if you only hang out in Christian circles? What is is referring to is being yolked together. Oxen were yoked together to plow fields. The oxen had to be of similar size and strength to work together. You would not yolk an ox and a rabbit or an ox and a giraffe. The yolk would not fit and the two could not work together. 


If you are a believer in Christ,why would you go into business with someone who does not share your Christian values?  If you want to be in a relationship or marriage with someone, but they do not share your Christian values, it would be a big mistake to get into partnership with them. Why? Well first, read God's Word above. 


You cannot and should not get into a relationship thinking you can get someone to change. For me, it is ridiculous to be with someone I want to change everything about. Is my partner perfect? No, sometimes he falls short, just like I do, but I know that first and foremost he loves the Lord Jesus Christ with all of his heart. We share our love of the Lord by going to church together and talking about the Lord. We can share encouraging Scriptures, emails and prayers. 


My prayer for you is that you embrace your differentness. You don't have to run with the pack. You don't have to be part of the "in" crowd. Remember that you are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalms 139:14). We are the apple of His eye. The phrase "apple of his eye" in an unusual one, used in the Bible to refer to God focusing His love, attention, and protection on those who follow Him. (BibleGateway.com)


Deuteronomy 32:10  He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. 


Lord, I thank you that you care for me as the apple of Your eye. You love me so very much. Thank you that I don't fit in with the world. I want to be different. I want Your Light to shine through me. 


I love You, Lord
Pamela