The Difference

When people come to visit, there is one compliment I love to hear.
It has nothing to do with decorating styles or furniture choices.
It has nothing to do with whether they enjoyed the food.
It is simply: There is something different about your home!

That something different is nothing that deserves a pat on the back.
That something different is nothing I can buy at the store, or manufacture on my own.
That something different is the presence of the Holy Spirit.

People will watch their language around you…even if you didn’t ask them to.
People stop telling an offensive story when you come in the room.
People may not include you, or invite you, because they know you will not participate.

It is not a matter of being better than someone else!
It is about being different!
Palpably different!

This difference is not unique to our family.
This difference is something those who are in Christ understand.
This difference is a good thing!

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:1-4)

Pentecost was the fulfillment of a promise.

Then He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures…You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what My Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high. (Luke 24:45,48,49)

This was a very transitional time in the early church.
The disciples were going from a time when Jesus was physically with them…to a time when He would ascend to the right hand of His Father.
Jesus knew that they would need comfort, guidance, and wisdom if they were to tell others about Him, and teach what the Scriptures say.

Sending His Spirit actually multiplied His disciples.
The eleven could not possibly reach all the people…to the ends of the earth.
However, they could reach some…right in their surrounding towns.
Those people, in turn, would reach others…who would reach others…

The Kingdom would exponentially increase…one person at a time!

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:26,27)

The Holy Spirit is not something you proudly wear as a badge on your lapel.
The Holy Spirit…the Spirit of the Lord Jesus…brings new life.
The Holy Spirit transforms us…to be more like Christ.

The presence of the Holy Spirit is the difference that is seen.
Seen…though not always understood.

After Pentecost, Peter and John were teaching the people and proclaiming Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
Such boldness…such authority.
Peter and John were known by the people…but something was different!

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13)

They had been with Jesus.
That’s the difference!

The palpable difference.
The difference that should be seen in our lifestyle…in our choices…in our demeanor.
The difference that is attractive to some and offensive to others.
We reflect our Lord Jesus in everything we do…everywhere we go.
We need to be aware that others are watching us…closely.

The best testimony is a changed life!
What if we really lived out the difference each day?
Can you imagine the impact on the Kingdom?

It is so easy to compromise…to go along…even in small ways.
It is much harder to stand…with resolve…and be different.

There is something I read once that I have never forgotten.
If you were on trial for being a Christian…would there be enough evidence to convict you?
Such a penetrating question…a question that cuts to the heart.

Robert Frost said it best in his poem The Road Not Taken:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Jesus talks about the narrow road…the different path.
That narrow road is the road less traveled.
It is the road that makes all the difference.

Father, in the power of Your Holy Spirit, help me live out the difference today.