People I just met expected to kiss on the cheek. [And I was inclined to give them 3 kisses like we do in the Netherlands when we kiss, but 3 was 1 too many. I expect to shake hands the first time and maybe hug the next time we meet.]
In the metro, people sit close to each other. [I mean, they actually sit in a chair next to someone when they have the option of sitting in a seat where there is no one else sitting next to them.]
These are only 3 examples of the little things that I noticed that are different from what I'm used to, while I was in Marseille, France. First I was unaware of these "local habits", and once I found out about some of them I though, "Strange!" Though they were small things, they reminded me that I was different. The brothers and sisters in Christ there made me feel very welcomed, and as the days went by I stopped being socked / surprised about many things.
1 Peter 2: 11-12
Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and temporary residents to abstain from fleshly desires that war against you. Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that in a case where they speak against you as those who do what is evil, they will, by observing your good works, glorify God on the day of visitation.
As Christians we know that we are walking with Jesus, and this automatically makes us strange. And just like He was persecuted, we too will be persecuted.
John 15:20
Remember the word that I said unto you, A servant is not greater than his lord. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also.
I often think of people far away in the Middle East or Asia when it comes to persecution. But even in the West, it happens more often than you would expect. It just takes a different form. Like a little girl who isn't allowed to go to church because her parents are not believers, like her. Or a young man fired after rumors start going around about him being one of those "ignorant Christians".
My hope is that we never loose that feeling of being strange when it comes to our relationship with the world. That every day we, who are Christ's body, allow God to renew our minds to never forget this truth; That we are called to be strange.
So when was the last time you looked at the world and felt strange, or the world looked at you, pointed and yelled, "STRANGE!!!"?
