Today's Devotional

April 15, 2002

Subject:  Set Apart

Ephesians 5:13 - "But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light; for whatsoever doth make manifest is light."  

I had to mow the lawn because I was the only one on the block who hadn't cut his grass all Spring.  As I was mowing, I thought about that.  "Standing out" because our grass is the only one uncut in the neighborhood is one thing, but standing out in the world because you are "different" than everybody else is something else.  Truthfully, if we are to live the lives that God has called us to lead, we will stand out.  That's an uncomfortable feeling for someone not totally committed to the cause of Christ because it will ultimately take sacrifice.  The message of compromise to the Christian is one that says, "you don't have to be different" when in fact, the very calling we have, being sanctified, means to be set apart.  Don't get me wrong now.  I've got quite a few unbelieving friends and they think we have a lot in common, and we do; but at the end of the day, they know that my belief system runs counter to theirs.  I thought of that this past weekend when a friend of mine told me about how the people in his office at work collect money to play the lottery.  They always skip over him and his brother because they know "how they are."  This is the witness that we have as believers.  The lost and dying world simply needs to know "how we are."  The bible says that whatsoever doeth make manifest is light.  If we are lights, then our brightness will repel those who want to live in darkness.  Therefore, you could be ostracized or kept out of a lot of things.  Don't worry.  It only goes to show that you are, in fact "set apart."      

Carlen