“Stick”ing Out vs. Blending In

This morning I saw a Phasmida, what we commonly know as a walking stick.  I think it was a momma and a baby.  They were on the church parking lot and I thought they must be lost.  So I put down my flip flop, let it walk on it and then moved them to the grass.  I then moved it further from the asphalt, next to the building, just to be safe.

Seeing the difference between the walking stick on the grass and then looking at it against the dirt and twigs at the base of the church was a stark contrast. What immediately came to mind was when Jesus, on the eve of His crucifixion day, told the disciples in John 17 that they were to be “in the world and not of the world”.  When He said not “of the world”, He meant “not like the world”.  It was and is His will for His followers to influence the world, not be influenced by the world.

It is way too easy to blend in with the world and be like the world!  When a group of His followers are doing what they are supposed to do, they will stand out in the world, like the walking stick stands out on the grass.  And I do not mean stand out like the Westboro Baptist Church. I would argue that WBC is actually being like the world – uncaring and selfish.  I mean, stand out by serving and loving those in the world. When the church does things just to point people to Jesus, not to receive recognition nor anything in return, I believe they are following Jesus command to be in the world, not of the world.

It is sad commentary of the American Church today that a group of people who constitute a church that does these things even stands out from other churches.

Today’s blog could very well be a continuation of a Facebook post I made on Sunday:

The American church is shrugged off by society as irrelevant and self-serving because, for the most part, they are right. What if your church was different? What if you were different? What if we cared more about a lost world than we cared about the church building? What if we not only told the world of Jesus’ love, but what if we showed them?

*

*

*

*

*

*