Titus 2:14 King James Version (KJV) Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

I prefer the wording of the KJV here to remind me that we are odd little fellows. We are not like everyone else.

Luke 19:5 English Standard Version (ESV) And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”

Zacchaeus was an odd little fellow, a sinner who placed himself in a tree in order to see Jesus. This was Jesus’ response to him. “I must come and stay in your house.”

The abiding presence of Jesus Christ is what makes us different. Placing our faith in Christ brings about all the promises of God that come by faith. The first being that the Holy Spirit comes to be a companion and guide. He leads us in all truth. That truth makes all the difference we need to witness our new creation to the lost.

“What an odd fellow. What makes him different from the rest of us?”

It is right to be different but how we are different means we have to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit to example the right kind of odd.

Philippians 1:20 English Standard Version (ESV) as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

We do not have to be ashamed about being the “odd man out” for it is Christ that is to be honored. It is His glory that shines forth and nothing of ourselves. We only need to be mindful that we are in the world but not of the world.

Matthew 13:53-58 English Standard Version

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

⁵³ And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, ⁵⁴ and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? ⁵⁵ Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶ And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” ⁵⁷ And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” ⁵⁸ And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.

What attracts the lost to Jesus? What in us reveals Jesus? The perception of others during our witnessing to the lost is vital. They see us as men, common, nothing special and if they are looking at us, they will find us. We cannot control the perceptions of others. If salvation is going to come to the lost, it will be that they seek God and not us.

It is not that Jesus could not do mighty works among them, it was an example of the need for faith to initiate belief. These people of Nazareth believed they knew this Jesus before His ministry began. They would not allow their perceptions to be changed.

They had all the elements required to believe for they saw that this Jesus was no longer a child and that something was unbelievably different about Him. The same should be said about each of us. We are not as before, we are new creations in Christ and as such should be seen as different.

What makes us different?