The Worst Possible Thing

Should Christians be just like everyone else?
Should they fit right into the culture and appear normal, whatever that is?

When you follow the story of God in the bible it becomes very clear that the answer is NO.

He called Abram to be a blessing to all the world- and his life would look different.
He marked his people with a covenant. It was going to set the men apart. Enough said!
(If you have no idea what I'm aiming at here, just read Genesis 17.)
He called Moses to lead his people to a Promised Land, and then he told them,

"You are to be holy to me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own." Leviticus 20:26

Over and over God calls people to be holy, set apart, marked for Him.
In a word- different.

So what is the worst possible thing someone could say about a Christ-follower?
"You are no different than anyone else."

That's a fundamental betrayal of what God wants to do in your life, and in the world through your life.

But what does it REALLY mean to be different?
That's the real issue.
And one I'd like to explore as we begin this MANIFESTO series.

What's the kind of different God wants us to be?
What's the kind of different He wants you to be?
Are there different ways of being different for different people?
(Read that last sentence 3x fast!)

Let me hear from you to get this one started:

What's the good kind of different that God wants you to be?