Setting us apart

I think I may have talked about this before. Setting ourselves apart.
I've thought about this a lot lately, ever since we have made this decision to follow the path that the Lord has revealed.

Our friend, Mike, said something at our life group last night that really stood out to me. Something to the effect of, "Followers of Christ should be placing themselves somewhere in between the world and the church- sparking the interest of the world and making them wonder while at the same time, challenging and pushing the members of the Body of Christ by simply living how God has asked us to live." That was an expanded version, but the same idea. :)

I have read Shane Claiborne's, "Jesus for President". It was very good, very thought provoking, with a little push to make you feel uncomfortable at moments. He discusses a lot on the idea that God used the laws to set apart His people in the Old Testament. The laws were not set to make sure they were doing the right thing, but to set them apart from the rest of the world. Isn't that a refreshing way to look at it? I hadn't really thought of it that way- honestly, that was a new concept to me. One of those light bulb moments.

And so it has led me to ponder and sit and stare off in space quite a bit, just thinking about what we are supposed to be doing here, now that Jesus came and left us with His Spirit.

This is what I have come to understand. His Spirit is what now sets us apart from the rest of the world. His Spirit lives in everyone who acknowledges and believes in God's Son, Jesus Christ. It's not about laws anymore- the only Law is to love God and love our neighbor. It is not a complicated system of rights and wrongs, of do's and don'ts. The thing that seems complicated is His Spirit. We don't really understand it, can't explain it, can't really justify it, but we CAN ignore it. Even if we believe in Jesus, this is the part we all have a hard time with. Hearing His voice and acting on it.

With my own experience with hearing the Spirit's voice it has been one of those trial and error kind of things. I've had to do some things that have been really awkward and weird at times. But it has made me place my trust in His grace and mercy that will cover me even if I hear Him wrong. This is the kicker. We never want to make a mistake and look like an idiot.

Kind of like the time I felt like we were supposed to give our bed to this family (who doesn't speak English) who lives in our neighborhood. I learned how to say, "Do you need a bed?", in Spanish and stopped by and asked, hoping that I was saying the right thing, the right way, etc. And they just stared at me like I was a complete freak of nature, so I said, "ok, thanks!", I ran away, got in the car and drove back to my safe little home. I felt like a complete loser, but I had a pretty good story to tell my hubby when he got home. We laughed pretty hard and now I have a funny story. And doing that actually made me a little more brave. I was not scarred for life or ridiculed by the world for offering my bed to a random stranger. I actually felt proud of myself and felt the Lord give me a little pat on the butt, as if to say, "Nice job, I'm proud of you, now let's keep trying!"

So as we "practice" acting out what we are hearing from that still small voice, we need to be brave. He gives us LOTS of practice! I hear Him telling me to do things all the time, sometimes I do them, sometimes I don't. He is not mad at me if I don't, but He is proud of me when I do.

This is how we separate ourselves, as children of God. We listen to His Spirit and act on it.

We MUST give ourselves grace. We MUST be able to laugh at ourselves. We MUST practice doing the little things so He can use us for the big things. And actually, they are all big things to Him.

It doesn't always have to be weird or random. But I think sometimes those ones stretch us and get us ready for the bigger things. Setting our pride aside to do what He is asking is how we confuse and exasperate the enemy. It stretches our faith and gives us purpose.

So, just try it! Be crazy!