Don’t Let the World Pick Your Outfit
Well, mercy sakes alive, friend, what a treat to have you stoppin' by here! You come right on through the gate and claim yourself a real good shady corner of this ol' front porch before the afternoon heat starts to actin' like a hot skillet with a real mean attitude. There's some sweet lemonade in the pitcher, a cool breeze teasin' the wind chimes, and enough worldly foolishness roamin' around here to keep an ol' barn owl blinkin' till breakfast. Today we're talkin' about bein' different without becomin' strange just for sport.
Romans 12:2 tells us, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind." The world is forever handin' us patterns and sayin', "Wear this. Want this. Chase this. Think this." But God ain't interested in trimmin' our old life with religious lace. He downright transforms us from the inside out.
And Titus 2:11-12 says, "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age." That sho'-nuff reminds us that grace don't merely forgive us. Grace trains us to say "No" to ungodliness and plum live differently right here in the middle of this ol' crooked world.
Little compromises can seem real harmless. One moth looks mighty unimpressive until it finds Grandma's best wool coat. One loose fence board don't worry nobody until an ol' goat that's been workin' real hard and studyin' engineering discovers it.
Friend, holiness ain't about actin' superior. It's about belongin' to Someone different. When Christ owns your heart, eventually your choices ought to start lookin' like His fingerprints have been left there in the midst of all the doin's.
Father, renew my mind and uncover the places where I've quietly copied the world instead of following You. Teach me through Your grace to reject what dulls my love for Christ. Make my life distinct without making my heart proud. Let people see more of Jesus in the way I think, choose, speak, and live. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Now, gather up your Bible, friend, and head on back into the day without lettin' the world dress your soul for you. A lil' ol' lightnin' bug don't apologize to the darkness for shinin', and a mountain spring don't muddy itself just to be matchin' the ditch. You were never called to blend in so well that nobody can tell which kingdom owns your heart. So, keep your lamp trimmed, your mind renewed, and your feet headed heavenward, and leave conformity flappin' out on the clothesline where it plum belongs.
With joy,
Gwen
