Do People Think You’re Crazy?
The Apostle Paul tells Christians in Corinth, “if in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied . . . But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep”. We do have hope because of Jesus’ resurrection. If that hope is real to us, then the way we live, the things we spend money on, and everything we do looks different than those in our mission field.
In other words, Paul tells us that we should live in a way that makes folks wonder if we’ve got a few screws loose. They should see such a massive difference that they may even pity us, because they don’t get the seemingly-illogical, erratic decisions we make. Because of Jesus’ work in us, our lives, choices, and decisions are marked by gospel abnormality.
ABNORMAL LIVES, FOR AN EXTRAORDINARY GOD
What are some abnormal ways we can live? I know people whose children qualified for scholarships at the finest private school across town, but instead chose to enroll in their neighborhood’s public school. They spent time discipling their children through their homework because they realized there was no better way to meet their neighborhood than to walk to the same school, join the same PTA, and go to the same events as them. I know folks who sold massive homes, took the tax hit and bought a smaller home in a rough part of town, to live among those to whom they were called on mission. I know folks who make double the amount of food they need for dinner each night, because their door is always open, and the family never knows exactly how many neighbors and friends will to show up to eat.
The book of 1 Peter starts by reminding us of the truth of the gospel. Then the rest of the book explains Christians’ abnormal lives: our view of—and even submission to—human authority looks different from the world around us, because we see God as sovereign. So the way we speak about our national leadership, school policies, or parents should reflect a trust in something deeper. Our marriages look different, because they reflect a deeper covenant. So we commit to a beauty deeper than physical, and we respect, forgive, and show grace to each other, by a power not our own. We suffer differently. God’s people found joy in persecution, so surely a stubbed toe or frustrated boss shouldn’t ruin our day.
ABNORMAL LIVES, FOR AN EXTRAORDINARY MISSION
Before he starts into examples above of this strange life we live, Peter writes, “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation”.
On one hand, Peter says, we cannot keep our abnormal lives hidden from the world around us: if we only live with Christian people, tucked away in “Christian castles”, then other people can’t see our lives and glorify God—because they can’t see our lives, period. We must put down the drawbridge and live out our faith in public. On the other hand, if in our decisions, choices, actions, and very lives people can see no discernible difference that Jesus has made in us, compared the lives of people who don’t follow Jesus, people still can’t see our lives and glorify God—because our lives and deeds aren’t proclaiming the glory of God. We are to live differently because of Jesus’ good work in us, but we are to live “among the Gentiles” — in the midst of a world that will think we’re crazy for the abnormal lives we live.
Living on mission starts when our goals, time, resources, decisions, and day-to-day lives functionally proclaim what we mentally affirm. When can people see the great change God makes in us, and glorify God in it? Often, it happens in the natural, spontaneous moments of daily life. In our lifestyle of "gospel abnormality”, that there is no way to explain ourselves, other than the massive change God has made in u
