One
of the challenges in life is finding your style; a style you are comfortable
with. Mine is business casual. I enjoy wearing sport coats, although usually
without the tie. I reserve t-shirts and blue jeans for my day off and for
vacation. My children give me a hard time, because in their minds I am always
“dressed up.” For me, it is what I am the most comfortable in.
I
also like hats. I am not talking about baseball caps. I am talking about
wide-brimmed hats, gentleman’s hats, hats with a little class. I have always
been a little timid about wearing hats, because I felt self-conscious. Recently
I decided to throw caution to the wind. I purchased a genuine fedora and a
Stetson trilby. Now that the weather has turned cooler, I wear one of them
every day.
The
problem with finding our style is that we often allow it to be overly
influenced by the opinions of others; or at least to our perceived
understanding of those opinions. So what we tend to do is look around at our
community and adjust our style to the norm. We would rather live in a style
that is not really us, than stand out in a crowd and feel awkward. It takes a
certain amount of courage to own your unique style.
As
followers of Christ, we need to discover and live out our God-given style. This
plays out in two specific ways.
First,
we are called to live out a style that is uniquely different from the world
around us. We are called to stand out in a positive way and not blend in with
the prevailing style of our world. Every Christian is challenged to live a
distinctly Christ-like life-style. As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you
to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble
and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians
4:1-2 Paul expands our understanding of our style in Ephesians 5:1-2. Be
imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love,
just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and
sacrifice to God. This should be every Christians “base” style.
Here
comes the rub. Just as we tend to conform to the style we see in the world, we
can start to conform to a new, generic “Christian” style. We start looking
around at other believers and try to mimic what they are doing. We become cookie-cutter
Christians. That is not what Christ has in mind for us.
Just
as there is a basic “Christian style” that we are all to conform to, there is a
unique, individual style that Christ has for each one of us. We often think of
this in terms of our spiritual gifts, but it is more than just that. It is a
combination of our gifts, talents, personality and passions. As these elements
are brought together, our unique, Christ-shaped style emerges.
Paul
talked quite a bit about gifts. He gives lists of gifts. He challenges us to
use our gifts. He makes the point that we don’t all have the same gifts and that
every gift is valuable and important. In Ephesians 4 he gives a powerful
summary about the purpose of our gifts.
It
was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be
evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for
works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach
unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature,
attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Then we will no longer be infants,
tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of
teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who
is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together
by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part
does its work. Ephesians 4:11-16
Christ
wants us to discover our unique style in Him, and then put it to work for the
good of the whole. Our ultimate goal is to see everyone become the person
Christ created them to be.
Styles
in fashion come and go. They are transient and ultimately don’t make any
lasting difference in our lives. But our spiritual style is eternal. It is the
way that we live out our faith and demonstrate to the world that we are a
follower of Jesus. Jesus wants to use our unique, individual styles to open the
doors of faith to other people. So what s your style? Whatever your style is,
embrace it. It is the way God has equipped you to make a difference in your
world.
And whatever you do, whether in word or
deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father
through him.
Colossians 3:17
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