Quarantine Youth: ExileSample

More than a Name

Following Jesus makes you different. We are steeped in a culture that doesn’t align itself with the values of the Kingdom of God. In fact, choosing to follow Jesus places you on a completely different path than the rest of the world. Culture is a tricky thing; it’s hard to see from the inside. It’s like being a fish: fish don’t ever think about the water, they just swim in it. Culture is like that. We don’t tend to think about it, we just swim in it.

Our culture will do everything in its power to try and make you fit in. Following Jesus means you are going to be on the outside, in exile. It means feeling the pressure to conform. When you feel the pressure, you will be faced with a choice:Adapt who you are to fit who our culture thinks you should be, or, be your best self; your Child-of-God self.

When Daniel and his friends were taken into exile, they were taken to Babylon. Babylon was completely different from the world they knew. In Babylon, living for God could actually put your life in peril. The Babylonians worked hard to make Daniel and his friends conform to their culture; they even tried to take away their Hebrew names and gave them Babylonian names.

Daniel and his friends had to make a choice: Adapt themselves to the Babylonian culture and names they were given by their captors,Or be their best selves; their Child-of-God selves.

Even though the Babylonians gave them new names, Daniel and his friends remained faithful to God. God blessed them for their faithfulness.

The world is going to try and give you a name, a label to try and make you fit in, but Jesus has already given you a name. When the world says you’re not good enough, Jesus says He accepts you as you are. When the world says you’re strange, Jesus says He loves your uniqueness. When the world says you’re a hypocrite, Jesus says you’re forgiven. When the world says no one cares, Jesus says He loves you, perfectly, and unconditionally. When the world tries to rename you, remember that you are more than the name that has been put on you.

Choose to be your best self, your Child-of-God self.