"See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the Lord my God commanded e, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering take possession of it. Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." What other nation is so great as tot have their gods near them the way the Lord or God is near us whenever we pray to Him?" (Deuteronomy 4:5-8 NIV)
God called the Israelites to Himself. He invited the Hebrews to live set apart as they left the wilderness and entered the Promised Land. During their days in the desert, He had entrusted His people with decrees ad laws for their safekeeping. These practices would set them apart from the idolaters already occupying the land. The Israelites were meant to live as an example of a different and better way of interacting with the Divine. Their obedience would stand out among the nations and even prove the power and presence of the Lord to the people in their midst.
Peter Scazzero would call this differentiation: a person’s capacity to define his or her life goals and values apart from the pressures of those around them. Differentiation is this idea that the pressure within a person can be greater than the pressure without. God was inviting His people to live at a high level of differentiation and experience a great benefit: His nearness. He wanted His people to be secure in their sense of belonging to a a holy God and dramatic in their outward witness. Differentiation has everything to do with identity and purpose: God had given them both.
I know this is Old Testament, but there is still application for modern day believers. We are still instructed to live set apart: differentiated from the world for the witness of Christ.
"Therefore, I urge you, bothers and sister, in view of God's mercy, to offer yourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God -- this is your true and proper worship. Do not be confirmed to the world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -- His good, perfect and pleasing will." (Romans 12:1-2 NIV)
Do you see it? As believers, we are called to differentiation. Because of God’s kindness toward us and our new understanding of the price of our transgression, we live self-sacrificially. We offer our lives as worship, as a grateful response to God’s mercy. While we live this life of worship, we hold up our souls to the pattern of His word and lop off anything that doesn’t match. We are reshaped into His plan for our lives. And the world around us takes note.
Someone in my path this past week mentioned it: how believers look and speak just like everyone else anymore. They weren’t wrong. When we retain the world, we lose the differentiation that is designed to be our witness. Moses warned us about it:
"Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have sen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them." (Deuteronomy 4:9 NIV)
We tend to drift. Culture washes in and erodes what we believe, unless we are continually reinforcing our personal perimeter. We grow in our differentiation by spending time in God’s presence and Word. We fortify His truth in our lives by studying it, repeating it, praying into it. We lose differentiation when we stop tending to the the things of God. The world seeps in and whittles away at what we know to be true, and eventually we look like everyone else.
There’s good news, though. It’s not too late. We still have time to return to God’s Word and His ways. We can learn to let His promises reign supreme in our stories. He still calls us to Himself as He did the Israelites. We find all that we require in Him when we have the courage to answer that call.
"Dear friends, I urge you as foreigners and exiles to abstain from sinful desires which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see Your deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us." (1 Peter 2:11-12 NIV)
Lord, please forgive us for losing internal pressure and caving to the waves of culture. Somehow, we’ve started to look and sound and act like the world around us. Today we recall how You have called us to live set apart. You have given us identity (sons and daughters of the living God) and purpose (Great Commission, Great Commandment). Forgive us for losing sight of what is most critical. Reinforce our differentiation so we can continue to lie on mission: loving You and loving others, seizing every opportunity to share Your love with the world. Help us stand up, send out and stay totally dedicated to Your purposes. Amen.