Since buying a house in Florida, I have experienced an interesting challenge I never faced in all my years of being a homeowner in the Midwest- recognizing my own house! I cannot tell you how many times I have driven past my own house in the last eight years. This dilemma is even more problematic at night. It’s a little unnerving driving up and down the street muttering to yourself, “It has to be around here somewhere!”
The issue lies not with my recognition memory - the ability to recognize previously encountered events, objects, or people. The issue lies in the fact that my house looks like every other house in the neighborhood! It just blends in with everything around it.
So I have taken steps to address the issue. First, I took a week of vacation and painted my house a different color than those around it. I planted some flowers in front of the house. My neighbors may think I planted the flowers for aesthetic purposes. Are you kidding? That pot of brilliant red and white begonias is a sign that tells me I’m home.
Of course, these exterior helps are of little use in the dark. So I have considered mounting a neon sign on top of my house saying, “This Is It!” I believe there are rules against that in our homeowner’s association guidelines, so I contented myself with changing the color of bulbs in the outside garage lights. So far so good.
I wonder, do we stand out for Jesus or blend in with the scenery like a chameleon? Blending in with the crowd seems to have become the popular thing to do. It certainly is the way of least resistance. But blending in is not the Christian way. To the Corinthian believers, whose lives pretty much resembled those of their unbelieving neighbors, Paul said, “Therefore, come out from among them and be separate” (2 Cor. 6:17). Don’t blend in. Stand out. Dare to be different.
The world acting like the world should never shock us. Christians acting like the world should! Instead of being conformed to the world and living like the rest of the crowd, be transformed. By the power of God be a new creation! In this way you will stand out for Jesus “in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:15).
Pastor Todd Weston
The issue lies not with my recognition memory - the ability to recognize previously encountered events, objects, or people. The issue lies in the fact that my house looks like every other house in the neighborhood! It just blends in with everything around it.
So I have taken steps to address the issue. First, I took a week of vacation and painted my house a different color than those around it. I planted some flowers in front of the house. My neighbors may think I planted the flowers for aesthetic purposes. Are you kidding? That pot of brilliant red and white begonias is a sign that tells me I’m home.
Of course, these exterior helps are of little use in the dark. So I have considered mounting a neon sign on top of my house saying, “This Is It!” I believe there are rules against that in our homeowner’s association guidelines, so I contented myself with changing the color of bulbs in the outside garage lights. So far so good.
I wonder, do we stand out for Jesus or blend in with the scenery like a chameleon? Blending in with the crowd seems to have become the popular thing to do. It certainly is the way of least resistance. But blending in is not the Christian way. To the Corinthian believers, whose lives pretty much resembled those of their unbelieving neighbors, Paul said, “Therefore, come out from among them and be separate” (2 Cor. 6:17). Don’t blend in. Stand out. Dare to be different.
The world acting like the world should never shock us. Christians acting like the world should! Instead of being conformed to the world and living like the rest of the crowd, be transformed. By the power of God be a new creation! In this way you will stand out for Jesus “in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:15).
Pastor Todd Weston