Considering the direction the world is going and the fact that most government leaders are in office at the will or consent of the majority of their constituencies, I therefore,, must conclude that .... I am peculiar, different ... abnormal. I am not in agreement with the majority of the world's people. Whether inferior or superior is not the question here. The question is, do I agree or disagree with the majority of the human race. The percentages of various religions in the world, rounded off, are approximately this .... 7 % in a host of lesser religions, 7% Buddhist, 13% Hindus, 14% Atheists and Agnostics, 24% Muslim, 32% "professing" Christians and 3% lost in the shuffle. So, if all 32% of "professing" Christians were indeed born again disciples of Christ, I would still be in a 1/3 minority. But that isn't the case. I probably don't closely agree (Doesn't mean that many of these others aren't saved) with more than ten percent of professing Christians. Which means I am in a minority of about 3% of the world's population. So I am not in agreement, at least concerning my faith, with 97 % of the people in the world. You can't call that "normal". So I am abnormal.
The majority obviously chooses minimal security and food in preference to freedom. The majority prefer Socialism, Communism, fascism or some other 'ism' to free enterprise. Judging by what the majority demands of TV programming, movie pornography and public sexual display, abortion and same sex unions ... I must conclude that .... My beliefs are those of a small minority. But, after three and a half years of ministry, miracles and holy majesty, Jesus only had 120 gathered in the upper room before he was crucified. That was a smaller minority than I am part of. That was even more abnormal than me. No wonder the majority of the world dislikes Bible believing Christians more than any other religion. Jesus said to those early Christians in John 15:18-20..."If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you .... "
Since Jesus forewarned us eight or ten times that his disciples, his followers, would be persecuted, if we choose to be his disciples, we should expect his warnings of persecution to be true. So "voluntarily" following Jesus is asking for trouble from the world and is not "humanly" normal. That means it is abnormal. If you are a Bible believing, born again Christian, you too are abnormal and as peculiar as I am.
My conclusion to these realities is .... Jesus Christ was and is, among the world's populations, also in a minority and I am in His minority ... exactly where I want to be, where I must be. But I would not exchange my relationship to Christ for all the gold, silver, precious stones, money, power and fame in the world. I would not exchange it for the whole world itself, the universe, or a million years of perfect health and happiness or even eternal life ... without Christ. What is "normal" about that? So I might as well confess it ... I am abnormal, odd, peculiar, strange .... But my problem is not that I am so terribly abnormal, but that I am not nearly abnormal enough.... more like Jesus. What about you? RB
