Hey guys, I know I have posted on this topic before but in light of how 2020 has been, I think I should share a few thoughts. Starting with this: Jesus was an outcast for preaching the truth. What makes us think it would be any different for us?
The reason I’m bringing this up is because lately there is so much controversy and taking sides that it has even infected the “Christian culture”. My sister has been sharing videos of this Christian couple who talk about the real life issues going on right now. One of them was discussing the question of whether or not a Christian celebrity can have a firm vocal stance in the gospel and solid biblical truths without losing a large amount of their following. That’s a great question because there are Christian artists out there who are staying quiet of the biblical truths that the world needs to hear or they are starting to side with the world’s perspective out of fear of possibly losing some of their fans they have established. It’s a natural fear. We all want to be accepted and when we are, we want to do everything we can to maintain that acceptance. Sometimes that includes watering down our faith or display of faith because we are too strong in our stance in the world’s eyes. Our light is too bright and we need to tone it down if people are going to notice us.
This is where I bring back a blog post I had done a while ago about warning believers to not put on wolf’s clothing when you are a sheep of God’s fold. We are not meant to blend in with the rest of our culture or society. As a follower of Jesus, we are meant to be different, to be odd, to be peculiar with our speech and actions to the point of curiosity. The world expects us to love what they love: money, power, popularity, gossip, but we are called to be the opposite! We are called to love others (including our enemies), to bless those who curse us, to be honest, to be humble, gentle, uplifting in our words and actions. Our love is for God and not ourselves and when we show that in our actions and the way we live, people around us notice. They may not like us because we are not following and doing what everyone else is doing but we are not called to do what the world is doing. Acceptance is the absence of rejection.
Jesus even tells us that those who love God and follow God will be hated by the world. We often find ourselves surprised when we are not supported by those around us but we shouldn’t. We should be anticipating constant rejection. I know that sounds bad and probably discouraging but we are supposed to rest our hope in Christ. If we find our identity and value in Christ, we don’t need to worry about being rejected by people.
The Bible tells us 365 times to not fear. If we truly trust Christ, we shouldn’t be afraid of living our lives for Christ and proclaiming His truth wherever we go because our value rests in Him and not the acceptance of the world.
This year has been testing to say the least, but also, what better time to show the world Christ than right now! There are so many people out there who don’t have hope, but we as believers do. In a dark time such as this, let the light of Christ’s hope shine through in you. Don’t be afraid of rejection for you have already been accepted by the One who orchestrated the stars and loved you so much He died for you.
Just wanted to share that with you guys.
Merry Christmas!
Be bold and shine.
-Becca.
Crimson Letters 