Amy sighed as she slammed her locker shut. It was finally the end of the day. The day that seemed to last forever. She recalled the sting from the conversation, the laughter and teasing that had followed.
“Why is it so hard to be a Christian,” she thought, “everyone is so tolerant of every idea except the concept of absolute truth.”
She wanted to love like Jesus loved. She didn’t believe it was her place to preach, to accuse, or to write off people.
She believed it was her place to try to be Christ-like, like the name Christian meant. To love like He did. To be a friend to those who might not know Him. She wanted to help the heartbroken find hope, the lost find a reason to live and the world to find a love which would never pack up and abandon anyone.
She believed in God and His love.
She believed in absolute truth.
God’s truth.
And no one could convince her heart otherwise.
“Do not be conformed any longer to this world, but be transformed be the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2 (NKJV) burned in her mind.
Contemplating that Scripture, she knew:
- She did not need to fit in with the world.
- By focusing on God’s promises in Scripture, she could transform her thinking and feeling from the hurt of exclusion to the healing of inclusion. She could exchange the pain from the world’s attitude toward her for the great love of God who would provide what she needed to persevere.
- By focusing on God, her attitude, her words, and her actions would reflect God, and reflect His truth.
When she broke Romans 12:2 down, she felt greatly encouraged. She chose to write that Scripture in a few key places where her weary eyes would find it when the world had dealt her it’s worst.
How about you? Do you ever tire of being different? Do you grow weary of the world challenging your faith, seemingly at every turn?
Here’s a song that just might encourage you by Francesca Battistelli:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96NQNa16wSE