One of the biggest struggles that people wrestle with today is where they ‘fit in’. Teens especially know what I’m talking about here. There is so much pressure from our culture and society to steer us into a herd mentality. Herd mentality is something that I learned while I was working cattle with my best friend’s dad, John Robert McIntosh, on his farm in Darnell, LA. A town so small that if you blink you miss it. It’s amazing what can be learned from the small off the beaten path places and things in life. Herd mentality as you have probably guessed is follow the leader and stay in a single file going through the motions. Everyone looking and doing the same. The creator made us to stand out instead of fitting in. Standing out not in an arrogant prideful way, but in a way that brings notoriety and honor to the One we represent. My point is we are called to be unique. We are called to walk a higher standard than the status quo herd mentality where everyone tries their hardest to totally fit in until blended in. Did Y’shua ‘fit in’ with the majority of his day? Did His ministry ‘fit in’? I believe it would be safe to say that He really stood out while walking out His purpose. I would hope we all could agree that Y’shua is our example to live by today. Y’shua’s faith was a faith of action. When you walk out your purpose it allows others to see your faith in action. This is the essence of ‘standing out’ for the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
That intro leads me into my next question. What is your place in the world? I’m being serious here. Do you really know who you are in Y’shua? Do you really know who you are? If you know, you are pretty much in the minority and I congratulate you. If you don’t there is never a better time than right now to find yourself and your place in the world.
How do we ‘find’ ourselves? First off out of the gates I want to advise, there is a lot of work or ‘works’ involved in understanding and walking out your purpose. There is a lot of negative talk out there today about ‘works’. It comes mainly from misunderstanding what works meant in the Newer Testament 1st Century setting. My redneck view of what ‘works’ means is very simple. If you lay out your faith through your actions it not only works but produces more works that work. This is an ongoing process and continues to grow or reproduce the more you exhibit or lay out your faith through your actions. That has been my experience throughout fifteen years of ministry. Does the Scripture frown upon works like our modern religious society? For me what Y’shua said is written in stone. In Revelation 1 it begins by stating that this was the revelation of Y’shua the Messiah. In Revelation 2 we find Y’shua auditing several churches. In His audit Y’shua addresses the issue of ‘works’. He begins by telling each church, “I know your WORKS (deeds or actions). Notice carefully Y’shua was judging these fellowships by their ‘works’ not by their beliefs! Did Y’shua at any point in His ministry admonish people to ‘stand out’? I believe He did right out of the gates in Matthew 5:16. Right after giving the sermon on the mount about the beatitudes, Y’shua tells the crowd something very interesting when it comes to ‘works’.
Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Yes we are commanded to let our light shine (works) so that others see who we serve. In other words, Y’shua was telling us to stand out and not fit it. Why is that? It is through your works of serving, caring, and loving others. This carries weight with people and it is exactly how you stand out in order to bring glory and honor to the One you represent.
The time is now to let your light shine before men and for a change start enjoying life. When you begin to understand and walk out your purpose, you get almost like a fresh perspective on life because now you have meaning to what you are doing. Your life has VALUE because of what you are doing. When you value something, its usually due to being passionate about it. When you are passionate about something it will influence those around you to get involved because through you finding your purpose, they in return find theirs. And now we are back full circle to what I mentioned earlier.
If you lay out your faith through your actions it not only works but produces more works that work. This is an ongoing process and continues to grow or reproduce the more you exhibit or lay out your faith through your actions. This is building the Kingdom one stone at a time.
Luke 10:2 And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Let your light shine NOW and hold nothing back. Break out of the just fitting in role and stand out for the Creator. What you are doing now determines what you get to do next. Shalom and blessings.
