Odd Man Out

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”  Titus 2:13-14

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, have you ever felt like the “odd man or woman out” when in a crowd of folks whether at work, school, the grocery store, ball game, or any other venue where people gather?  I think in some places, a Christian might actually be the only believer who is present.  Believers don’t wear a button or nametag to identify himself or herself as a Christian.  It can be dangerous to do so depending on where you happen to be.  In this day and age, Christians are not exactly held out in high esteem by the world, but are rather seen as the enemy of those who love their sin and desire to remain “free” to do as they please, although there’s nothing freeing about sin.  Those caught up in their sin are actually under bondage.  Sin makes a slave of those who fall into the devil’s trap.

In this age of “wokeness” and “cancel culture”, folks are fearful of saying anything that in any way can offend someone else.  I have notice that folks, particularly the younger generation, have become hyper sensitive to remarks by others, easily offended, and lacking the ability to “let it go” which, in my opinion, is a sign of immaturity.  I am glad that Jesus was not afraid of being “cancelled”, although He did give His life because His enemies desired to “cancel” Him permanently.  Of course, they weren’t able to.  Their persecution and execution of Him only opened the way for all who would desire to follow Him, thus receiving a life of freedom, joy, and everlasting life in a perfect paradise.  I have all ideas that eventually the “woke” folks and the “cancel culture” crowd will go so far that their endeavors to change the world as they see fit will come back to bite them on the rear end.  As the old gospel song says, “You can’t do wrong and get by.”

I have sat at a busy intersection waiting on the red light to turn green, watching all the people whiz by going to their different destinations and wondered how many of those cars would be driverless should Jesus return at that moment to gather His people.  Maybe the idea of manufacturing driverless cars is not such a bad idea, although I don’t want to ride in one.  One day, all of God’s people are going to disappear, gathered up by Jesus and will meet Him in the air (I Thessalonians 4:13-18).  I try to picture that in my mind.  I remember our pastor when I was younger would preach about the time when Jesus will return for believers.  The pastor’s mother died when he was a baby, and he was reared by his grandmother.  He would tell us that if he knew that Jesus would return that afternoon at 2 p.m., he and his wife would drive to the cemetery where his mother was buried and kneel down by her grave and wait for her to arise with a new body.  Since my husband and son are both deceased, I think that I would also like to be able to see them come up out of their graves in the first resurrection (Revelation 20:5-6), but no one knows when that will occur except God, the Father.  Besides, I might be in my grave by that time, too, in which case my wish would come true for we would arise together to meet the Lord in the air and forever be with Him.  As an old 1960’s rock and roll song said, “Good-bye cruel world”.

The majority of the world’s inhabitants do not think about the end times all that much, at least, not in how they should be thinking about it.  People live like they will live forever on this earth.  They don’t stop and consider that they will be held accountable for what they have done on earth, but, more importantly, what they have done with Christ.  All people will have to answer the most important question that will ever be asked, “Do you know Christ as Lord and Savior?”  The answer to that question determines where a person will spend eternity.  And it’s not about just being saved, but living for Christ that shows whether one’s relationship with God’s Son is the real deal or whether one is a phony.

It’s a crazy thing, but I guess folks are so used to sin, that when a believer does a good deed, people are puzzled.  This has happened to me.  Finding that I had received an item at Walmart among all the things that I had bought, but this one item was not on my register receipt.  It was an item that cost $6.00.  Another time it was a turkey that cost $14.00.  I returned to the store both times and explained that I had not paid for the item and wanted to pay for it.  The cashier and any one in line behind you will look at you like you are “peculiar”, “odd”, or “crazy” for doing the right thing.  In the mind of some folks, they figure that the store makes plenty of money, so what’s one item going to cost the store if it fails to be rung up.  Wrong answer.  Receiving an item that you should have paid for, but didn’t, even if it wasn’t your fault, is stealing.  If you were overcharged several dollars, would you not go back and ask for a refund?  I think that people act surprised when someone does the right thing because it happens so seldom.  What does that say about the majority of folks?  Again, as the old song says, “You can’t do wrong and get by”, and that goes particularly for folks who are followers of Christ.  Therefore, call me the “odd woman out”, as I thank God that He chose me to be one of His “peculiar” people.