Red Man in a Blue World
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: 1 Peter 2:9 KJV
Christians are ‘a peculiar people’.
We’re whacky to most of the world we live in, walking around believing in a guy who lived 2000 years ago. We follow this Jesus guy . . . the only founder of a religion who claimed to be God and then backed it up by predicting his death & resurrection and then pulling it off.
As a Jesus-follower, I often feel like a red man living in a blue world. The blue world looks at me cockeyed when I . . .
- Look away from the girl in the sundress and don’t join in the lust-filled banter.
- Choose to have someone else with me when I’m meeting with a female other than my wife.
- Give away chunks of my income to support my local church.
- Turn away from drinking or getting drunk.
- Talk about Jesus in such a personal way that it can get uncomfortable.
- Spend scads of time mentoring younger men for free.
Red men live in a peculiar tension. A big one. We’re ‘in the world’ but not ‘of the world’.
A tension is where two opposing forces have to co-exist. The forces push against each other or, at times, pull against each other. Unlike a problem that can be solved a tension can’t be resolved.
Isn’t supposed to be.
It’s there and will always be. It’s to be managed, not solved. Us ‘weirdo’ Christians believe God engineered things this way – to keep us turning to Him for help in managing these tensions. The more “all in” you are in your walk with Jesus, the more tension you face. Committed red men stand out strong in a blue world.
What’s worse, we sometimes feel tension from other red men.
From Jesus-followers who seem to have their act more together than us. And from ‘church’ – most red men go to church on Sunday. Other red men are the ‘insiders’. They know the songs and the preacher personally. They go on mission trips. Their family names are inscribed on the stained glass or communion table or pew because of their faithfulness. “What am I doing here?” we think. “I’m not ‘red enough’ to fit in here!” So we keep going through the motions or we slowly go away.
Red men can find themselves very alone. ‘Out’ in the red man’s world. ‘Out’ in the blue world they live and work in. Sometimes red men even feel ‘out’ in their own families . . . especially when everyone else seems more involved in the blue world and not very interested in your red one.
Our ‘safe harbor’ is the Presence of Father. When we retreat into His presence, the tension disappears because He is ruler over the red and the blue. Over heaven AND earth. When we stop, get quiet, and prayerfully enter into his Presence, all the colors blend into glorious Light and we feel totally safe, totally loved and at home.
Question: When the tension of being a red man in a blue world gets intense, will you retreat into His Presence? Tell us here
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Responses (2)
During my “retreat into His presence” this morning my reading included Psalm 46. Verse 1 is “God is our refuge and strength.” And verse 10, “be still and know that I am God.” I couldn’t agree with you more.
Interesting thoughts Reggie. I would add red men often feel tension with themselves.