Grey Days

I look out the window and see a few colors. A blue building. Tan grass. Green bushes. But mostly grey. Grey tree trunks and limbs. Grey sky. Grey asphalt. Grey decking.

What do you notice when you look around you? I think we tend to notice what is different. Grey has become a neutral color for decor. About 16 years ago I began a new job. The walls of the business were painted grey. That was a first for me, at least as much as I can remember. I don't recall having a grey office before that but everything was grey. The walls. The carpet. The cubicle walls. The desktops. Different shades of grey but all grey.

I got used to it.

I like grey or gray. I like when the leaves fall from the trees and all that is left are the grey trunks and limbs. I like a grey sky. I like a grey road stretched out before me.

The grey sort of disappears; it becomes nondescript. So others things, other colors, pop out. Like the blue building and the tan grass and the green bushes. I glance across the yard and see a brown trash can, the kind you roll to the curb on Fridays. What I see most about the trash can are the bright white letters painted on its side. It's too far away for me to read what it says but my eyes are drawn to the lettering. Because it's different. It stands out. Against a backdrop of grey asphalt.

It's not just grey. If everything was orange and one thing was another color, you would notice it and probably not be able to look away. Someone once told me that the way to see deer in the woods is to look for horizontal lines because most everything else would be vertical.

Different stands out. Ask those who began wearing what is now common in the hip hop culture why they started dressing like that. To be different. Ask a musician how he developed his style. To be different. Ask a hip pastor why he preaches or teaches like he does. To be different. To get noticed.

If different gets noticed - good or bad - why are Christian's content to blend in? When Jesus saves a person and his Spirit moves in, the person is changed. He's not what he was. He's not like the world. He's different. Over time he becomes more and more like Jesus.

Christians ought to be the people who are noticed. Not because of a boycott or a rally, even though those are sometimes needed. But noticed because our lives and our reactions to life are different.

I attended two funerals this week. One was for a person whose entire life had been a reflection of Jesus. The other was for a person whose life had been changed midstream for Jesus. They were different and people noticed.

The first flowers of spring, the first star in the night sky, the first car you pass on a lonely stretch of road, the splash of color against a grey background, the object that doesn't belong with the others (remember Sesame Street?)… These stick out because they are different.

We live in the same world as everyone else, but Christians ought to stand out. We ought to stand out because we are different. We are different because of Jesus.