Welcome to day 30 of STAND OUT: 7 traits of a counter cultural life. You can find every post in this series indexed here.

So, we’re slowly wrapping up this series. And I was thinking about why these last few posts have been so difficult for me to write. It hasn’t just been because I’ve launched a whole new {huge!} project, though that has been a factor. And not just because October blew right by and I was barely able to keep up with writing the posts I’d already outlined and planned. {Though that is true.} I think writing these final posts has been a struggle because I want to end well … I want you to know how important these ideas really are and how much it really matters that we don’t allow ourselves to be conformed to the word. 

Here’s the thing, when we look like Jesus, when our lives are characterized by wisdom and commitment and generosity and service and forgiveness and dependence and hope, people will notice. And then what?

What do we say when someone asks us how we can forgive what seems unforgivable? How do we explain why we are committed to staying and working through the hard seasons in relationships when it would be so much easier {and even acceptable} to walk away? What will we tell people who ask us why we serve and give when no one seems to care or appreciate our time and investment?

How can we explain ourselves to a world consumed with self?

Jesus.

He’s the only answer we can give. He is our explanation. He is our transformation.

When we are living out the gospel day in and day out in front of people, we will be given opportunities to share the gospel with others. We must be prepared. We must be ready to speak about the God who wrapped Himself in flesh and walked among us. We must be willing to talk about our own sin and desperate neediness so we can also talk about God’s mercy and the Cross and the empty tomb and the hope we now have in Christ. We must be honest about how hard it is but also willing to share the great beauty of abiding in Him.

When we are changed by God’s mercy and grace, we will want to invite others to experience the transformation as well. How could we not?

So, today, will you invite others into the transformation you have experienced? Will you look for ways to speak about the God who changed your life? Will you be bold in His love, boasting only in His grace, living obediently in His strength?

A counter cultural life matters only when it points to Jesus. That’s the goal: to give Him the glory!

xo,

Teri Lynne