This was supposed to be posted Saturday evening but, due to technical difficulties that did not happen; my apologies. I hope you enjoy it even though you are reading it a few days later than intended!
This morning I heard someone quote Jim Caviezel as saying, “We (Christians, Believers in Jesus Christ) are not meant to fit in, we are meant to be different.”
Easter is a time when that difference is profound. We are celebrating because Someone was raised from the dead. He came for the express purpose of dying – so He could rise again and show He is more powerful than death. He came to be our savior-to save us from death and destruction and to give us life abundant and eternal.
When we celebrate Easter – the Resurrection of Jesus – we are telling the world we believe we need a savior and that Jesus is the only one who can meet that need. We are saying we believe in good and evil because Jesus said there is a real enemy of our soul who desires our defeat in life as well as death. We proclaim there is a heaven where we can spend forever with God. We are shouting from the mountaintop that we serve a God who died but lives again! We want others to know our God is a God of grace and mercy not a task master to be feared.
These reasons we celebrate are so different from other religions; they are some of the reasons we are different. These are the reasons the world should see us as different. Not so much because of how we dress, talk, or ‘fit in’ (or don’t ‘fit in’!) but because we believe in our God so much that we are excited to be His followers and that excitement is evident in all aspects of our life.
Jesus ways are not the norm for the world and when we are following Him and trying to be like Him we will not fit the norm either; we will be different. But that kind of different is good! Perhaps you will stand out because you are not quick to judge, or you don’t spend the weekend getting drunk or watching x-rated movies. Maybe your coworkers have noticed you are joyful even when times are hard. Does your language reflect thankfulness to God? Do your neighbors see you giving part of your Sunday to attend church? Do your friends think you’re different because you won’t lie or gossip?
Loving Jesus makes us different. There are some ways we shouldn’t want to fit in with everyone else. I know, I know – sometimes Christians seem, well, weird because of the way they choose live out their faith and that can tend to turn people away from Jesus instead of toward Him. That’s unfortunate but it shouldn’t make us try to fit in so much that there’s no difference between an unbeliever and us. If there is no difference, we are doing something wrong.
Easter is a day but it’s also a lifestyle. Christians have more reason to be at peace and joyful than anyone else in the world because our God is alive and involved in our lives! We can express love because we are loved and we can offer mercy because it was offered to us. We are free to be different because our God is different than any other god!
Eternity is real and I know some people who are experiencing it in heaven right now. A husband, a son, grandparents, other relatives and friends who are glad for the difference Jesus makes! Getting there is as easy as believing Jesus is the Son of God who came to earth as a human being to stand in our place and take the penalty for our sin (and everyone has sinned). Ask Him to forgive you and be your Savior then begin to fall in love with Him. Living ‘different’ for Him is a change that just naturally takes place when you love Him.
This year, celebrate Easter daily. Rejoice that the resurrection is real and is for all of us. Live in peace because you know Jesus is alive. Be glad to be different because your God is different and is madly in love with you!
JEV 