Mark Galli strikes to the heart of our aversion to being “different” as evangelicals in America. We just want to be dog-gone normal! We want to compete with the local coffee shop or bar. In his column, Galli relates the story of a lawsuit brought by a high school senior who didn’t want the graduation to take place in a church because it made the student feel offended. The church staff was offended by the remark.

We, as evangelicals, seem to take offense at people taking offense at the gospel of Jesus Christ. Shouldn’t everyone be happy about this stuff? After all, it’s the “good news” isn’t it? How dare some kid say our church is offensive!

Well, the gospel just plain makes people uncomfortable. Jesus never pulled punches. He thinned out crowds. Now, we try to swell numbers.

We need to get over ourselves. I like to be liked. No question. Yet, the gospel of Jesus Christ at some point in time is going make people nervous and uneasy. Change is necessary. Change we can really believe in. But change is what we hate. So, when the gospel, the real gospel requires change, we balk. If we get through that hesitation, we find life. Otherwise, we continue to live in darkness.

But, doggone it, we’re such nice people! Everyone should like us!

Friends, if we are in Christ, we are truly odd. The affections of this world should not hold sway. Jesus commands our allegiance. That will clash with this culture and this world. It will be uncomfortable at times. We need to consider who IS Lord in our lives.