Nothing in Estevan, Saskatchewan makes people angrier than trains. Our town is divided by the CP Rail tracks and it seems that trains roll through at the most inopportune times. Last week, a train blocked the tracks on Kensington Avenue and by the time it finally moved vehicles were lined up, two lanes wide, all the way back to Walmart. Lately, the railway seems to be better at avoiding the peak traffic hours, but people still hate waiting on trains.
It seemed strange, then, that a couple of Mondays ago people happily lined up and waited for hours for a train to come through town. This was no ordinary train though. It was a steam locomotive built in December 1930. The Empress, as she is called, was on a celebration tour and it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the old technology on the rails again. People were excited about the steam train because it was different in a good and interesting way.
That last line is important. Different is not always good. I know some Christians who are different in ways that just make them seem strange. They use weird churchy language. They draw strange lines in the sand regarding what they will and will not do. Often, they disengage from their community and only associate with their Christian friends. While I understand the motivation behind some of these choices, I do not believe that these actions help us. All they do is make us look odd!
What if we took God’s call to be different and lived it out in the best way possible? What if you were known for being the kindest person around? Maybe you could be different by being the most forgiving, the most gracious, or the least easily angered. What if we were known as the most welcoming people in town?
That sort of life would make a difference and it would be attractive rather than repulsive.
Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35).
That would be different in a good way.
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