Why Are You Different?

Zechariah 8:23 (ESV): Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.

As long as I have known my wife Cheryl, she has had a relationship with her Lord that is firmly grounded. If you know her, you know who she lives for and you know that she is not afraid to share the gospel with anyone who seeks her counsel.

When she was in her late teens, one of her younger girlfriends asked, “Why are you different?”

Cheryl explained to her the relationship she had with the Lord Jesus and the difference between a relationship and a religion.  The young friend asked, “Can I have that too?”  Cheryl led her into the family of God.

The young friend grew strong in her relationship with the Lord and I could see that she was in the world but not of it. I went to her and asked, “Why are you different?” Over a period of time, she showed me her relationship with the Lord. On December 30th, 1973 I asked the Lord Jesus if I could have a relationship with him too.

“Why are you different?” Has anyone ever asked you that question? Has anyone ever said, “I don’t understand why you are different, but I want what you have. I want to be like you.”

It has been amazing to watch Cheryl down through the years. Women, young and old, high school, and middle school girls, they all want to schedule time to be with her. They completely take confidence in her. They want to tell her their story because she listens to their hearts and gives them her time and counsel. Most of all, she loves them. It is a gift from God.

Why is she different? The answer is found in Galatians chapter 5, verses 22 and 23 in the Bible. When a believer is filled with God’s spirit, they begin to exhibit the fruits of God’s spirit. Just like a fruit tree in the spring that blossoms with beauty, the Spirit led believer also blossoms in beauty. These blossoms are exhibited as the gifts of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And of all these gifts, the greatest is love.

The “Love Chapter,” found in the Bible, is in 1 Corinthians 13:1–7 (NIV).  It says, “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

In the world we live in, normal human attributes include in some form and degree, hatred, jealousy, backbiting, self-centeredness, bitterness and arrogance. A person living by God’s spirit exhibits grace, mercy, peace, pardon, and righteousness because of the gift of salvation given to them by Jesus Christ. It is refreshing to see and to be around.

“Why are you different? I want to be like you.”

I have watched Cheryl in 1972 mentor her friend Angie, who then mentored another, who mentored another and on and on it goes. Even right now as I am writing this, Cheryl is sitting in the kitchen mentoring three high school girls who have asked her to give them one day a week so they can understand why she is different. If they earnestly seek after God, they will become different too.

It is a still, small voice. A gentle whisper of the Lord. He stands at the door of your heart knocking. If any man or woman hears his voice and opens the door, he will come into that life and make it new.

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