God's People are Weird...

Have you ever heard this statement made before about the Church?  Christians?  The statement being that 'the Church' or 'Christians' are weird?  Maybe you've even thought that at one point or another.  The truth of the matter is, if the Church/Christians aren't seen as weird in our world, then something is wrong.  Christians and their local congregations are supposed to be weird in comparison to the culture, the lost, and the worldview of the day - it's downright biblical and, quite frankly, non-negotiable.

What do I mean then by being "weird?"  This is not to say that Christians and local churches should purposefully act, talk and live in a strange manner for the sake of being 'in but not of the world', or however one would like to look at it.  What I mean by being weird, and more importantly, what the Bible means about Christians and the Church being "weird" in this world, is that we should be living for the Lord.  We should be on mission sharing and living the Gospel - there's nothing more counter-cultural than the Gospel!  Jesus Himself was/is the poster-boy for weirdness - He flipped the world upside down, He shattered racial/cultural/social barriers in a span of 3 years, and He brought the religious/cultural system of His day to their knees - and Jesus is still doing that today.

In the Old Testament book of Esther, the Jews find themselves post-exile living under the governance of the next world empire at that time, the Medo-Persians.  Things are a bit better for the Jews at this point.  They've been allowed to function as Jews once again, being allowed to return to their city and rebuild their lives again.  Nestled in this historical narrative, we come to the account given in Esther.  The Persian king in charge at that time was a man named Ahasuerus and he had recently promoted a new 'right hand man' named Haman.  Haman despised the very existence of the Jews.  They were an eye-sore as far as he was concerned and racially/culturally Haman hated them.

In the midst of this, Haman and others of the king's court take notice of the Jews and how they're so much different than everyone else in society - they were markedly weird; weirder than any other people or culture.  Haman reports the following to King Ahasuerus in Esther 3:8 - "There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from all other people's, and they do not keep the king's laws."  This mere fact alone, that the Jews followed a different set of rules, that the Jews lived a far different lifestyle, that the Jews worshiped a different God - the God - caused Haman to burn with wrath against them.  It was so noticeable and weird to Haman that he conspired to have them wiped off the map.

Christians, we're weird because the Author and Perfector of our faith is Christ Himself - and He was weird (according to this world's definition and standards) - "You are from below; I am from above.  You are of this world; I am not of this world." (John 8:23)  Knowing this then, we see in Romans 6:6, "For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin," 1 Corinthians 12:27, "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it," Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me," and Galatians 3:27, "for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ."  Upon faith and trust in Christ, we become His ambassadors, His representatives, His followers (disciples).  We take on His identity and gradually we become more and more like Him. 

Therefore, Christians are weird.

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