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In my Bible reading I’ve been reading through some of the ancient Israelite laws. Several times throughout, God tells the Israelites that one of the reasons they have these laws is to set them apart as different from the people around them. It is to be readily apparent that the Israelites are very different, serving as a sign that God is among them.

In the New Testament we are given the same principle: we Christians are to be different from the world around us. It is to be readily apparent that there’s something about us that sets us apart. God has always called His people to holiness, because He is holy – see Leviticus 19:1-2, 20:7-8, and 1 Peter 1:15-16. While we certainly aren’t to be obnoxious about it, we are called to a higher standard of living than the rest of the world, and that will cause people to look at us differently.

But we’re not to look different just for the sake of it! God wants us to be different to show people His love and goodness! We are showing people what God is like, and that will likely bring up questions that we can answer. We have access to God Himself, who helps us live this different life. God wants others to come to Him as well, and why would they come to Him if they didn’t see something good about Him?

Since God has the power to save and transform us, we should look, feel, think, and be different in a display of His greatness.