Out of This World

I'm currently immersed in a Bible study with an amazing group of women. Until a few short months ago, I didn't even know half of these fellow sisters in Christ. But God, in his undeniable wisdom, assembled this group of women from a variety of places. Hope College. Friends of mine. Friends of a coworker. Community members.

We just began studying, The Good and Beautiful Community, the third in a series of books by author, James Bryan Smith. It's a life changing study that has touched me beyond words. This week's study collided with an earlier visual from nature. As I've shared so many times, I smile when God orchestrates my encounters around a current theme. And so it was again this past week.

On Wednesday, as I left the Keppel House on the campus of Hope College, I passed this humongous group of hydrangea bushes. I've admired their showy flowers throughout the summer. They are nothing short of spectacular. But as the crisp days of fall are turning the world into God's eye candy, so too, these flowers are aging to a pink hue.

What caught my attention was one flower. One flower that stood out among the crowd.

It was if this bright, white flower hadn't received the message that the slow death of fall was all around. This branch was an alien in the world around it. This flower was peculiar.

Today, I started reading The Good and Beautiful Community. The first chapter is entitled, The Peculiar Community. In this chapter, the author reminds us how we, as Christians, are peculiar in the world. We stand out as odd. Weird even, to the world around us. And the way we stand out, or should stand out, is in a way that catches the attention of those around us. Not for us to boast, but in a spirit of humility, with actions that surprise the world with peculiarity.

Peter talks about this peculiarity in I Peter 2:11-12 (here from my old NIV text):

Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they may accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

Today, as I reflect on my life, I ask God to help me stand out as odd. Weird. Peculiar. May my white flower stand out among the dying blooms of the world, so that others may see, and know, that God lives in me.