No New Normal

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. 1 Peter 2:9 KJV

I am not usually a King James Version person, but for this verse, I much prefer the KJV translation over all others because of the word peculiar. This word peculiar denotes someone who is not normal and is different from what is expected. This person is just plain strange. Other Bible translations have interpreted the word peculiar as God’s own possession or special. Now, if you are Jamaican, you know that if someone is called special more than likely it is not a good thing. That means the person is different and quite odd. Interestingly, as followers of Christ we are expected to be different and odd. God has chosen us to be separated and not to fit in being conformists to a world that although we are in, we are not of because He has selected us to be His people, holy and set apart for His works.

If we look through the Bible, we will see that God used some unconventional characters in some rather bizarre circumstances. They were definitely not normal. He sent a stuttering senior citizen with a walking stick to demand that the ruler of a mighty nation let His people go. That’s not normal. Let’s stick with sticks for a little while longer since He used a young shepherd boy in a battle to defeat a seasoned gigantic giant soldier who was in full armor with only a stick and some stones. That’s not normal. God transformed a killer of Christians to be an Apostle of apostles who rejoiced while writing life giving words in letters to churches throughout the world even though he was imprisoned. That is not normal.

God impregnated a young virgin girl who was basically nearly married with His Holy Spirit to give birth to the Messiah and told her soon-to-be husband to go ahead and marry this lady who could have been stoned and to be the surrogate Father to His Son. That is so not normal. Then this Son turns out to be the expected Messiah, who was quite unexpected to the Jews because He was not what they thought He should be. He wasn’t the valiant warrior riding on a stately horse leading them to victory over their oppressors. Instead, He was the humble servant leader on a lowly donkey who triumphed over death to give eternal life to all who would accept Him in their hearts. The Jews sure didn’t think that was normal.

There was nothing normal about Jesus. He knowingly picked His betrayer to be among His disciples, realizing that he was a part of God’s plan for Him to be crucified, thereby defying death to be resurrected on the third day. And, we all should be thankful that Jesus didn’t conform to the norm. He understood that His companion would create the way for His death, but because of Jesus’ extraordinary love for us and not wanting any of us to perish, He followed the Father’s inexplicable plan. God’s plans can be unfathomable because His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. They are far higher than ours could ever be. (See Isaiah 55:8-9). Therefore, when we obey God many around us may not understand because His path for us will probably be incomprehensible to the world. Even His battle strategy makes no worldly sense. He sent the timid Gideon who had low self-esteem to war with 300 men who drank like dogs. Now, it didn’t start like that. Gideon had 22,000 men, but God didn’t want them to say it was them that defeated their enemy, so 12,000 fearful men chose to leave. But 10,000 was still too much for God who wanted to ensure He would get the glory and they wouldn’t say that it was their power that won the war, so God separated 300 men who lapped water like dogs would. (See Judges 7). Really?!! They would never have been my choice. Then to top it all off, they went into battle not with sticks this time, but trumpets. So not normal.

There is a lesson to learn in Gideon’s story. It is said that people can tell who you are by who you hang around. The companions of peculiar people are not normal. God orchestrates a band of unusual people as His chosen ones, so if you are trying to fit in with the world, you may not be on God’s path. Time to do a reset and get a renewed mind. Remember God uses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise and the weak things to shame the strong. (See 1 Corinthians 1:27). God’s separated takes the narrow path that leads to life, which few find. (See Matthew 7:14). They do not give in to temporary satisfaction which is ruled by the flesh, but are led by the Holy Spirit to eternal life.

People of God are outsiders. They do not fit in with the crowd, but rather follow their unconventional Master who defies the logic of the world. Understanding that when they do the Father’s will, they might be scoffed at and scorned, they still do His will as their delight is to please Him, even to their own detriment.

Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. Hebrews 13:12-13 NASB

So, if we are to truly be followers of Christ, we cannot expect to be normal. When God makes us new creatures we are no longer what the world considers normal, we become oddities. When God makes anything new, it can never be normal. When He creates a new thing it is different. There is no new normal with God. When He makes all things new, nothing will be normal.