Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
As a child, I watched a lot of Sesame Street. And one of my favorite sketches on the show was "One of these things is not like the other", where four things were shown, three of which were the same, one of which was different. I always like the thing that was different.
Today, I was outside taking pictures, when I caught the shot I am using for today's post. They are my neighbor's tulips, most of which is red, one is yellow, and one is a red-yellow variegation. I found it to be a great metaphor for how Christians function in the world at large. Many Christians want to blend in, be like everyone else. They conform. Then there are the Christians who want to bridge both worlds, the sacred and the secular. They make it clear that they are Christians, and in many ways different from the status quo. And then there are those Christians who are brightly, boldly different. They will never conform to the secular world, but still find ways to function within it.
At different points in my life, I have been all three of these types of Christian. Right now, I would have to say I am at the point where I am trying to straddle both worlds. I wish I was at a point where I had the courage to be bolder, and I pray that someday I will be bold again. But I know that even where I am right now, even without being that bold yellow tulip, God is using me in amazing and powerful ways. So, who knows, maybe slowly that red will fade away and that yellow will overtake, and my boldness will be used for even more of God's glory.
