Who do you look like?

As I was doing a devotion last night there was a part of the devotional that talked about an unusual characteristic. This isn't something that we usually think of, but I believe this is something that we need to all be reminded of. This unusual characteristic is walking and being looked at as Christ did. So many times we act one way around the our friends at church and then as soon as we are at work or with our non-Christian friend we act a totally different way. I'm guilty of this sometimes, I think I do a pretty good job of this because people at work know me as the "Christian guy". I'm not saying this to toot my own horn, but sometimes being the "Christian guy" isn't always fun. I get made fun of, jokes always come my way and other things happen to. Sometimes I catch myself acting just like everyone else, what I mean by that I joining in the joking and talk like "one of the boys". The problem with that is I'm not "one of the boys", I'm a child of the living God, an Ambassador for him. So are you. If you think it's ok to just be like everyone else then how can you be living righteous for God? To be righteous we must be set apart for God.  This is how Dr. Thomas Blackaby puts it; How can God's people offer anything to non-believers when they see no difference of any kind except, perhaps, attending a church once a week? First John 2:6 reminds us that whoever claims to be in Christ needs to "walk just as He walked," and we know Christ lived an extraordinary life among ordinary people.
I believe that we too should walk as Jesus does. I'm not saying that we should be super fanatical by condeming people to hell, but I do believe we need to be different. I know people make fun of me, don't invite me to parties because they know I'm a Christian. Sometimes it hurts and isn't fun but one thing I do know is that it's totally worth it. I look at it as picking up my cross daily. Remember when we are different we have to make sure that it's always out of love and that we are doing this because we want to be like Jesus.
So my prayer for us is that we act like Jesus. That he would give us the strength to walk as he did. I pray that we wouldn't get discouraged in times of persecution and that we would have boldness to live a life different then the world would tell us to. I pray for strenght and faith to let God be God.