Jeans

"By God's mercy, brothers! Present your bodies a sacrifice, living, holy, acceptable to God, your mindful service," Romans 12:1.

Then there's talk here of non-conformity, of transformation, of God's will. Well, now, I'm into non-conformity! If everybody's wearing chinos, I'm wearing jeans. If everybody's wearing Carharts, I'm wearing LLBean. If this government says No spitting, I'm going to spit. Yeah, a real walk on the wild side. But non-conformity that challenges my heart, rather than indulging my self-deceived individuality? Understanding, and doing, the will of God, that kind of transformation ... Humility. Service. Love. Giving respect. Prayer. Hospitality. Blessing the bad guys (not cursing them). Harmony. No vengeance. Living peaceably. Overcoming evil with good. That's the non-conformity it's talking about: living sacrifice. For Jesus. Sky kingdom.

Chatting with a brother or sister today, we remember Jesus' sacrifice for us all. We encourage each other in yielding our vengeance to God's wrath. And, together, we give thanks that God blessed, and didn't curse, us.