Predictable, identical and consistent? Or quirky, radical and rebellious?
by Jane Mueller
Click here for your printable verse to carry with you today.
‘Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind’ (Romans 12:2a).
The first and second Industrial Revolutions seemed to change everything. Among a myriad of advancements, this era galvanised the shift from unique handmade items to the mass production and standardisation of goods. With this shift came the new expectation that goods would be predictable, identical and consistent.
Do we allow our familiarisation with predictable, identical and consistent goods to influence the company we keep? Do we seek to be surrounded by people who are predictable, identical and consistent? Do we find comfort among those who are compliant and congruous?
It’s easy to be caught in an echo chamber; to be swept up in a world of like-minded people who agree with us, thereby reflecting and reinforcing our own opinions and bias. Echo chambers not only polarise us and keep us obliviously closed-off from the wider community, but they also prevent us from growing into a deeper relationship with God and with others.
When we find ourselves surrounded only by people fresh from our world’s cookie-cutting assembly line, we become detached from the richness of God’s creation, which in turn limits the renewing of our mind.
Jesus did not conform to the patterns of our world. He certainly was not born from an assembly line. He was a misfit. He was quirky, radical and rebellious. Some might say he was off-centre and unbalanced – unhinged even. He challenged the status quo. And because of these things he was rejected by worldly and religious authorities. But he spoke truth, he spoke love, and he spoke life. He challenged people in strange, unusual and peculiar ways (according to the day’s societal norms). He renewed the minds of those who would listen.
Well beyond his time on earth, Jesus continues to speak truth, love and life through wonderfully made non-conformist, offbeat, reformist renegades.
So, who challenges you? Who opens your mind? Who stretches your thinking? Who expands your heart? Who helps you to venture out of your echo chamber? Which quirky, radical or rebellious people does Jesus speak through, and into, your life?
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, transform me by the renewing of my mind from the inside out, and let me find comfort among the discomfort of the unpredictable and unfamiliar. Open my eyes to the quirky, radical and rebellious people you place in my path, who speak your words of truth, love and life in order to help me grow in relationship with you and with others. Move me to be maladjusted to this world’s culture and fully aligned with your good, pleasing and perfect will. Inspire me to be undignified and non-conforming in my love for you and for others. Amen.
- Click here to read previous devotions.
- We are also posting them on LCA Facebook, making it easy for you to share them with family and friends.
- Sign up to receive Daily Devotion in your inbox every morning. If you’re already doing that, please encourage others to sign up. Click here for the link.
