The Case For a Double Standard   

One of the biggest criticisms leveled at Christians by non-Christians is that we are too judgmental. For many years I have rejected this criticism because it is not our judgment of sin but rather God’s. It is not man who wrote the law but God. While I still believe all of this to be true I do think that we have missed the point. You see many Christians including myself have made the incorrect assumption that non-Christians should be held to the same standard of morality as Christians, and while this may seem just and fair it is not practical. To ask people to deprive themselves and to be willing to endure the difficulty of living a moral life without providing them with motivation to do so is foolish. The Apostle Paul seems to agree

If from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, LET US EAT AND DRINK, FOR TOMORROW WE DIE I Corinthians 15:32

 If there is no resurrection and no reward then even Paul is ready to live a life of gluttony and drunkenness so why should we expect people who have not been given the hope of eternal life to sacrifice pleasure when there's nothing "in it for them"?

Additionally this is not how Jesus did things. For example when he told the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:21 

Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”. 

Jesus didn’t tell him to go sell all he had and give it to the poor because he should or because it was the right thing to do but rather he gave him the promise of treasure in heaven. Unfortunately for this young man he failed to see the value of treasure in heaven and he left Jesus and “went away sorrowful because he had great possessions”. 

Christians Have a Reason to Live Moral Lives 

Christians have been given promises much like the rich young ruler. Jesus always gives us a reason to hold to the higher standard of morality that he calls us to. Without these promises there would be no good reason to hold to the standard or to take up our cross and follow him, but yet that is exactly what we expect non-Christians to do. 

Clearly the apostle Paul instructs believers that there should be a distinction between the standard we hold outsiders to versus believers. He outlines this in I Corinthians 5:9-13  

^“I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people;  I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world.  But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELF.”

Christians Are Held to a Much Higher Standard  

So if we follow Paul’s instructions, we as Christians will be more focused on ourselves and cleaning up the church rather than focusing on cleaning up the world. Doing this will result in a more authentic picture of Christianity and will allow non-Christians to live without feeling judged by Christians. Paul is very clear that judging outsiders is God’s job and NOT OURS. I wonder if Christians have truly run afoul of the parable that Jesus tells in Matthew 7:3-5 

“Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. 

It's Time For Judgment to Begin With the Household of God  

I really think that it's time for Christians to look inward at our own morality and our own holiness and stop focusing on the world’s lack of morality. If we are the light of the world then we affect the darkness by shining our light more brightly. It is only by becoming more authentic and more like Jesus that we will be able to penetrate the darkness. Rather than just sit back and curse the darkness we should be allowing our lights to shine so that God will be glorified because of our morality. As the apostle Peter says in I Peter 4:17

For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

Perhaps if we follow the advice of Jesus, Paul and Peter and turn our judgmental stares back onto ourselves we will stop alienating people in the world, clean up our own hypocrisy and make Christianity more attractive.

Resolution -vs- Renewal 

All of us love fresh starts and the idea that a new year can be markedly better than the previous ones. I think the hope that a new year can bring is a very positive thing. However I am not looking forward to the crowded gym that I will have to endure for the next few weeks until those who made new year’s resolutions to lose weight eventually give up and go back to their usual routines.

Ask yourself how many new year’s resolutions have you ever kept? I personally can’t remember too many of mine that lasted much beyond February. In fact a 2012 Forbes article citing research from the university of Scranton concluded that only 8% of people actually keep their resolutions. This approach of trying to “white knuckle” your way to a better life is something the apostle Paul decried in Colossians 2: 20-23

If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.

Will Power Alone Won’t Lead to Sustainable Change

What I believe Paul is telling us is that we need stop listening to decrees and mandates that men create (including ourselves) as a means to combat fleshly indulgence because they are “of no value”.  There is an approach however that will work but it requires a much greater commitment. In Romans 12:2 Paul tells us:

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

If we are to succeed in making transformational positive change in our lives we have to start by rejecting the demands that the world makes on our mindset and renew our minds. Instead of trying to fight our assumptions and desires with will power we need instead to change our assumptions and desires leading to permanent lifestyle changes. OK great but what does this look like in practical terms?

Let’s take everyone’s favorite new year’s resolution –weight loss.  The world has its’ solutions which include pills, diets, exercise programs, and even weight loss surgery. Most of these have one thing in common. They are a quick fix to a long term problem. The other thing they have in common is that they cost you hundreds if not thousands of dollars and the benefits in the vast majority of cases are also short lived.

Any credible person will tell you that will power or some short term fix will not produce lasting change. In order to achieve lasting tangible results you must make permanent lifestyle changes and those are only possible when you first “renew your mind” to reject the societal narratives and do the things that are necessary to achieve the results.

I myself have had to learn this the hard way. I have lost more than 60 lbs. and kept it off since the previously mentioned Forbes article was written back in 2013. I achieved this result without the benefit of any diet, pill, exercise video or surgery but it was certainly not easy. For me the change required that I reject several assumptions regarding food that I had held my entire life. There are so many cultural pressures that we all face regarding food.  In churches for example there are continual pot lucks and luncheons and dinners. It’s almost as if Christians can’t come together unless food is somehow involved.

Extra Pounds Equates to Extra Profits

While writing this article I happened upon a 2016 Time article that cited a study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that found that restaurant food is just as unhealthy as fast food. In the study they found that the average caloric content of a restaurant meal was 1205 calories! The study assumed a baseline of 540 calories per meal as providing the average energy that an adult would need from a meal which for me is still way too many calories for an average meal.

Why would restaurants want to provide such large portions do you ask? The answer is simple. They can charge you more money. Same thing for fast food chains that encourage you to super-size a meal because they make more and we have accepted this as being normal and even something that is required of us especially if you are dating or married.  You are required to go out on Valentines, birthdays, Christmas, New Years, Groundhog day, Presidents day….. You get the idea.

Clearly this is benefiting those who are selling the food and we are willing to fork over thousands of dollars a year to support a system that is causing us real harm. Recently while I was watching broadcast television I literally saw a commercial for a restaurant, followed by a commercial for weight loss surgery, followed by a commercial for a law firm that was helping people sue for damages caused by weight loss surgery. At every link in that chain someone was profiting from people while causing them real harm at the same time.

Always Question Everything   

Renewing your mind for me begins with questioning every assumption on which these things stand.  One of my favorite examples of this were the Bereans who are described in Acts 17:11 as follows:

Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
Even though the Bereans were listening to the apostle Paul preaching to them, they refused to blindly accept even him at his words but verified his teaching against scripture which they knew to be true.

When you start questioning everything,  you begin to see that in many cases we have been duped into supporting something that is harming us. Then after rejecting the harmful assumptions, we need to move towards affirming more positive ones.

In my case after I was able to see through these lies, I remembered something I learned in 12^th grade Physics regarding the laws of the conservation of energy. The laws of Physics are undefeated and the conservation of energy states that all energy within a system can’t be created or destroyed. If extra calories are consumed they are stored as potential energy (fat). Then when the body is called upon to burn energy in the form of exercise (kinetic energy) it uses the available stored energy to supply what the body needs.

So for the human body if you consume more calories than you burn you WILL gain weight and if you burn more calories than you consume you WILL lose weight. That part is very straightforward simple and true. The difficulty comes in consuming fewer calories than you burn which is an entirely different and much longer story.

Renew Your Life by Renewing Your Mind

Regardless of the type of change you are seeking the journey begins by:

1.  Refusing to blindly conform to the world's assumptions and requirements
2.  Question the validity of everything you are told
3. Seek the truth and hold fast to it
4. Align your life to implement the things you know to be true.

In 2018 I hope many of you instead of making yet another resolution will choose instead to make this the year where you will transform your life by renewing your mind.

The Red Pill and Renewing Your Mind

My all-time favorite movie is The Matrix. One of the most iconic scenes is where Neo is faced with a critical decision:

Morpheus : This is your  last chance. After this, there is no turning back.....You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up and believe...whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill.....you stay in wonderland...and I show you just how deep the rabbit hole goes.

Neo pauses for an instant, then reaches for the red pill.

Morpheus : Remember...all I'm offering you is the truth : nothing more.

He swallows it down with a glass of water, and looks at Morpheus.

There is a lot written about what it means to be a red pill person. Researching this yielded many and disparate points of view all eager to claim the moniker of being red pill people and opposing points of view being tagged as blue pill people. One very vocal group of atheists assigns religious people as being “blue pill” people along the lines of the famous Karl Marx quote that “religion is the opiate of the masses”. However I have a different perspective that I would like to offer up.

The Matrix is a Metaphor for the Temporal and Spiritual Realms

Whether intended or not the entire movie is a metaphor. The matrix is the temporal world we live in just as it was for the inhabitants of the matrix whereas the real world including Zion and its warriors and defenders is the real existence where all humans were meant to live. The matrix was an interactive prison for the mind that trapped people in an alternate reality that felt more real to them than the real world and even in some cases like Cypher seemed more desirable than the real world. The purpose of the Matrix was to blind the humans who were physically imprisoned by the machines while they literally were draining their life force to supply the power they needed to survive. They also were able to at times in the matrix to take control of any human body that was still “plugged in” and become an agent of evil.

For us it is much the same. We have this world that we exist in that by every account is real. However we also know that it is temporary and that there is a much greater reality that is eternal and in this reality just like in the movie there is a war going on as indicated by Revelation 12:7-17

And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying,
      “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. “For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.

And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth. So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus

 In Ephesians 6, the apostle Paul admonishes us to put on the full armor of God:

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

War is Upon Us Whether We Believe It or Not 

This is a call to arms for Christians to get in the fight and be properly prepared for that fight. Like Morpheus and the other humans in the movie, war was and is a reality. You can choose to be oblivious or you can fight but regardless of the decision each person makes, the reality of the war remains. So like it or not if you are a child of God who keeps his commandments and holds to the testimony of Jesus, war is being waged against you! You can remain blissfully ignorant of this fact like those who remained “plugged in” to the matrix or even in some cases make a conscious decision to ignore the reality of the spiritual war that is being waged against you much like Cypher chose to do:

Cypher: You know, I know this steak doesn't exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious.

he sighs

Cypher: After nine years, you know what I realize?

Cypher puts the bit of steak into his mouth, and sighs, as he chews it with his eyes closed.

Cypher: Ignorance is bliss.

We Too Allow the Matrix to Control our Thoughts Actions and Behaviors

How many Christians make the same choice that Cypher made to choose the happy illusion over the harsh reality? I have been a part of the church my entire life and the vast majority of Christians I have personally encountered were preoccupied with the things of this world to the exclusion of spiritual things. In America, most people including the vast majority of Christians are preoccupied with the American dream. Much like in the Matrix there were expectations and rules that Neo had to obey as both his boss and later Smith explained to him and there were dire consequences for violating these “cultural expectations”.

 The same is true for us in 21^st century America and in most churches there is a “life script” that must be adhered to. The script that I was given to follow went something like this:

1)      You must attend a Christian college

2)      You must continue attending church and stay plugged in (and yes they do actually use those words)

3)      Before graduating you must meet and court your future spouse getting married soon after graduation.

4)      You must graduate and get a good job that allows you to:

a.       Live in an acceptable neighborhood

b.      Drive an acceptable car

c.       Wear the right kind of clothes purchased from approved stores with acceptable labels on them

d.      Consume the right kind of entertainment

5)      Get plugged into a church and begin climbing the social ladder there taking special care to pay proper homage to the established “cool kids” at the top of the church’s social ladder.

6)      Have kids at the “appropriate time” but not too many and then have them repeat the cycle.

As a young man I felt intense pressure to follow this script from virtually everywhere I turned. Not only family but elders, ministers, friends and even a large segment of popular culture during that time all seemed to be trying to control me and force me to adhere to the approved “life script”. Throughout time the script may change a bit. For example today’s life script would skip the marriage part and add in a few tattoos a beard and maybe even a man-bun but the fact is that there has always been intense pressure on God’s people to conform to the culture in which they lived. 

Freedom Through Death

The journey that led to Neo’s transformation and the freeing of his mind culminating in his super man like powers began when he first decided to take the red pill. That act allowed him to break free. In biblical terms he became dead to that world so much so that the machines discarded him and then flushed him into the sewer.

If we are to free ourselves from the peer pressure that the world (including unfortunately many within the church) would place upon you to conform to their rules and regulations of how you must live your life, then you too must die to this world and in doing so break free of their ability to control your mind and your behavior. In Romans 6:5-7 Paul explains how we are freed from sin by death.

“For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin”

So when we unplug or die to sin then it no longer has the ability to enslave us just like Neo was no longer enslaved to the machines.

Romans 6:11-14

Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Free From Cultural Authority and Peer Pressure

When Neo awoke he had a new set of priorities and a new mission and he then took orders from Morpheus and the council of Zion. So we too when we die to sin and to the world we are also choosing to submit to God to become his instruments and like Neo allow ourselves to be used as a weapon to fight the ultimate battle between good and evil.

Colossians 2: 20-23

If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.

We also need to be careful not to allow ourselves to submit to fleshly and carnal rules to which we have already died because the world will try to impose its rules on us such as political correctness which is a blatant and obvious attempt to control the minds of everyone and force them to bend to the will of the people who get to define what is and what isn’t politically correct. We have to understand that we no longer answer to these self appointed cultural authorities but answer rather to Christ.

For us just as it was for Neo the truth is not all unicorns and rainbows. Living the life that Jesus calls us to is a very difficult and often lonely one:

Then Jesus said to His disciples,

“If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

Matthew 16:24-26

Ignorance is bliss?

Cypher told agent Smith he wanted to be rich and famous after they plugged his body back into the matrix. Given the way most Christians live our lives and follow some variation of the approved “life script”, it seems that we like Cypher are chasing after something that is just as worthless and ridiculous as what he was seeking. Again in Matthew 10 34-39 Jesus is telling his disciples:

  “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; and A MAN’S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.

      “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.

Again here it is clear. Jesus is issuing a call to arms. He came to wage war. He isn’t playing around and he requires that his disciples take the battle as seriously as he does. One phrase he uses that catches my attention “He who has found his life will lose it”. So you mean if I follow the script and I succeed and manage to climb to the top of the social ladder and arrive, that after all of that I will lose my life? I think the answer is a resounding yes. In the Matthew 16 passage Jesus says:

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?

What would it have profited Cypher if he had been made supreme ruler of the Matrix? In reality he would have been plugged in while the machines drained his life force out to supply the power they needed. The rest is just an illusion.  How can we not see likewise how utterly meaningless it is for God's children to get caught up in our status here in this world? 

Transformation Through Renewal of our Minds

Jesus calls us to “lose our life for his sake” to take up our cross and get in the fight. He is asking us to give up the illusion for the real. The good news is that in doing so he promises that we will “find” our life.  For me this means more than a physical life but our passion our purpose and our true belonging in his kingdom.

There is a reason why Christendom has in many ways become almost indistinguishable from the world in virtually every category that we measure include divorce rate, teen pregnancy, addictions etc. It’s because most Christians have taken the blue pill and live the good life of a #BluePillChristian. We have been deceived and many have unwittingly much like the people in the movie become agents of the very system that is at war with Christ’s kingdom. It is time to wake up from this dream world. Take the red pill, unplug yourself die to this world and free your mind and become a #RedPillChristian.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2

The Hopeful Exiled Misfit

When I was searching for a title for my blog I had great difficulty trying to come up with something that conveyed the things I wanted. I was raised by Christian parents and have been a Christian myself for all of my life. I married a very Godly Christian woman who is unrivaled in her spirituality and devotion to God. My two boys were raised as Christians and both now are seeking full time ministry just not in a traditional setting but rather they are seeking to utilize their gifts and talents to further the kingdom through the medium of television and film. I have even served in many capacities for many different churches. I have served as a deacon and youth ministry leader. I have served as a bible class teacher to many different ages in multiple churches. I have been a youth sports coach and scout leader and through all of these various roles I tried my best to use them as a method to bring glory to God and to further his kingdom. So all of my life even unto this very day I consider myself a loyal faithful Christian who seeks only the furthering of his kingdom.

 A Misfit’s Journey

All of that being said there is something else about me that is also important. You see I am a misfit to the very core. Like most every human being I have tried in various groups and in various ways to “fit in” and despite my best efforts I failed to do so. For me it began in my earliest years of school. There were many things about me that were different and given that most social groups including school children are somewhat Darwinistic in their values, I was not deemed as being one of the fittest worthy of survival. I tried many ways of overcoming my short comings mostly they all had one theme. I had to be “enough”. As a young man I loved athletics and so I felt that if I could be the best at my chosen sport that perhaps that would gain me acceptance and approval by my peers. I had my moments of triumph and lots of struggles but I managed to hang on to make the team and even start several years in multiple sports. So I had friends that were “Jocks” and was perhaps considered by some to be a “Jock” myself but there were many things about the Jock culture that I had no interest in so I never truly fit in and was considered by most in that clique to be an outsider and not truly one of them.

I also valued education and I tried really hard to get good grades which is not something in a small town Texas school that was valued by the vast majority of Jocks. I actually did quite well but there was always someone smarter and many of my really intelligent friends saw me and tried to label me as a dumb jock. So while I probably shared more in common with this group, I never really fit in there.

Next there were my Christian friends. When all else fails you should be able to “fit in” at church right? Wrong again. This is probably the rejection and the cut that is the deepest wound of all. While you would think that the whole cool kids thing and dividing people into groups like jocks, freaks, geeks etc. would have been left behind in high school what I have found in reality is that there are groups of 60 and 70 years olds in churches that are still dividing people up and assigning status to someone based on some standard they apply.

Misfit is Exiled

Here again I found myself as never being quite enough. Despite my efforts to work hard and serve I failed to make deep connection with the vast majority of Christians I encountered. Mostly because I wasn’t attractive enough, rich enough or cool enough. So what is someone like me who has a fierce love for God and an unshakable faith to do when he finds that he is not wanted in any church to which he has tried to belong? I’ll let you know when I figure that one out as I am still working on it. For now however I have to consider myself an Exiled Misfit. The term Exile is borrowed from David Kinnaman’s book You Lost Me. His description of an Exile reads like my autobiography. Basically it is someone who has a deep abiding faith in God but can’t seem to find a church that shares their same values.

Thank God I’m an Exiled Misfit!

At some point in the last year I had an Epiphany. It was then that I realized that being an Exiled Misfit was an act of grace and mercy and a tremendous blessing from God! I know you may think I am crazy and maybe even a bit cheesy but it’s true. If I had been accepted and “fit in” just like everyone else then I would be part of the problem propagating and furthering the social structures and social caste systems and social climbing that were never intended to be part of Christ’s church. Additionally there is a fundamental truth about God’s kingdom. He doesn’t use cool kids. Listen to what the apostle Paul says in I Corinthians 1:26-29

For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God

God Really Love’s Misfits!

I challenge you to find one of the great heroes of the faith that fit in or was considered cool. By contrast there are countless examples of “nobodys” that God used. For example who would use an 80 year old shepherd to become the great deliverer and law giver and leader of God’s people and yet God used Moses to do exactly that. How about the youngest son whom the father left tending the sheep when the prophet Samuel came to his house to anoint a new king and yet it was that young shepherd boy that God chose to be the next king. Who would hire a bunch of unschooled fishermen, tax collectors and zealots to be the ones to usher in a new religion and establish the church and yet that was exactly whom Jesus chose.

In Hebrews 11 there is a listing of some of the great heroes of the faith. The author pauses briefly and adds in the following observation in Hebrews 11:13-16

All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.

Moving Forward with Hope as an Exiled Misfit

Once I realized this I chose to embrace the title of Exiled Misfit because that is how God’s people always have been and always will be. Further I promised myself whether inside a church or in the world to never again seek “the approval of men”. There is only one person whose approval I need and if scripture makes anything clear having his approval and having men’s approval is a mutually exclusive thing as the apostle Paul reminds us in Galatians 1:10

For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.

As for the hopeful part, I have a great deal of hope. My hope however is not in churches or people or ministries or programs or anything of human origin. My hope is in God’s kingdom and my inheritance that he has promised me as his child.

I also hope to find other like-minded Christians who are not happy with the status quo of Christianity and the church of the 21^st century and find fellowship and encouragement as we seek to continue our work for God’s kingdom and to serve him and him only.