We all take on the character and nature of the society we live in. But as Christians, we are to have a different look. More and more in the modern American society, Christians look like everybody else, and when we do try to stand out, we are mocked and ridiculed, and so we draw back in to look like everyone else. God has given us a call to live as a community. To live outside the lines of the world. To be his hands and feet in a troubled world, but not to be just like the world. Too often in our world, Christians curb their ideologies and their faith to be more accepted, so we can create community. But true community is not sacrificing our obedience to God in order to appease the world around us. One of the major reasons for the growth of the first-century church was their need to rely on each other. Their need not for autonomous individualism but for community.
