It was by faith that, when Moses was born, he was hidden for three months by his parents. They saw that the child was beautiful, and they weren't afraid of the king's orders. It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharoah's daughter, preferring to suffer hardship along with God's people than to enjoy the short term pleasures of sin. He reckoned that reproach suffered for the Messiah was worth more than all the treasures of Egypt; He was looking ahead to the reward.
It was by faith that he left Egypt, without fear of Pharoah's anger; he kept the invisible one constantly before hi eyes. It was by faith that he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn wouldn't touch them. It was by faith that they crossed the Red Sea as though they were on dry ground, while the Egyptians, when they tried to do the same, were drowned. It was by faith that the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. It was by faith that the prostitute Rahab was not destroyed along with those who didn't believe; she had welcomed the spies in peace.
Seeking the Kingdom will get you in trouble with the world around you. It will cost and it will mean suffering. To seek God's justice, mercy and faithfulness is to act in direct opposition and subversion to the ways that would lead to injustice, violence and self-centeredness. It means giving up status, giving up rights, giving up wealth and giving up personal agenda's. It says that until there is perfect Love upon the world and in and amongst the people God loves then I cannot, as an individual, attain to being whole or enjoying shalom and being permeated with God's Shekhinah glory. This is a profoundly Hebraic understanding of Messiah, thank you Lord for the book of Hebrews. To trust God in this way leads to more abundant life...and it's worth all the treasures of Egypt and then some. For those who've tasted it know.
It's not about being different just to be different, it's about giving weight and importance to God the Father and to Messiah over and above and despite any and all prevailing winds. We see this in Jesus life and ministry and He is the one we are to follow, He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
This may include counter-culture acts. This may include leaving everything we know and are comfortable with. This may include the miraculous and watching the Lord crush our enemies and pursuers. It may include suffering at the hands of the very same. This may include keeping a celebration such as the Passover or for us, Baptism and the Eucharist, commandments that not only tell the story so it doesn't get lost, but invites active participation from the whole people of God. There is power in these ordinances commanded by Jesus that a sermon about freedom or taking Messiah into ones self and becoming the dwelling place of the living God or a theological exhortation on remembrance or about how to properly do them will never touch. It is a matter of simple faith and obedience. Between baptism and communion, something every Christian ought to know and cherish as part of our great familial heritage... it blows my mind the two simple things that interactively tell the story of what is going on become such a source of chaotic ramblings and discord. Satan would attack there though wouldn't he. Peeve of mine...moving on...
By grace, His faith will take us through trial after trial and deliver us from the hand of the Destroyer and into the heart and people of the one living and true God known in the person of Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter if we've have been a prince of Egypt or a prostitute...just listen, just trust, just walk.
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand...I am the Way, the Truth and the Life no one comes to the Father, but by me. - Jesus
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