I wear a jacket: that’s my style!
Day in, day out, hot or cold,
Indoors or outdoors, it doesn’t matter
I wear this jacket of mine, everywhere.
It has nothing to do with the weather
At least not the one you think
It’s another kind of weather;
The timing, the place I find myself.
I want to belong, I want to be liked
I want to be accepted like the rest
But I have something unlike the rest
That aims to proclaim that I’m different
And I don’t want to be, can’t afford to be
So I tag my uniqueness a shame. I squirrel,
Then hoard that variance with this jacket
And move around like everyone else.
What they don’t know won’t hurt them
Even though it eventually kills me.
My sister shared a very funny but touching story recently. She had a meeting with two friends. As she walked up to them, they were intently sharing a mutual concern and immediately included her. The subject was to beware of some folks who hang around some popular spots in town, telling everyone that passes by, that the world is coming to an end, that Jesus is Lord, and that whoever dies without repenting, believing, and accepting Jesus Christ as Lord is going straight to hell fire. The faces of these friends reflected that they were concerned and disturbed. My sister said nothing about the discussion.
They delved into their meeting and when it was done, as she was heading out, she turned around and said to them, “You know those folks you were talking about?” They nodded, and she continued, “I am one of them. I believe what they said, and I preach the same.” That said, she walked away, enjoying the peace of having witnessed for Christ, and not denying him to be accepted. She knew the risk could be instant rejection but she couldn’t be bothered. She knew she could be tagged and banned or whatever but she confessed that she felt good taking that stand for Jesus, at that point in time.
The other side of the story is that when next they met, one of them said, “I really like and respect you the more for speaking up and defending your faith peacefully. I am not sure I could have been able to do same with mine if I was put on the spot.” To her surprise, it didn’t rip the relationship, it rather strengthened it.
God has not called us to shame but to glory. He called us as lights. Not to be hidden under bushels of popular opinions, pursuing global approval and acceptance. Not to be distracted by controversies and unprofitable arguments. Our call is to be like Christ everywhere we go, in everything we do. We are called, not to struggle or argue with darkness but to shine, glowing with God’s indisputable glory. We are called to be the reflections of Christ who is the Prince of peace. Not to force anyone into acceptance but to extend the eternal invitation however we respectfully can, and allow them to exercise their God given power of choice. At the end of the day, what matters is that wherever we go, and in whatever we do, we shine forth the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ.
Glory!