exceptional

 Yesterday I told you about the teenager who is now living with us - 27 years after i opened my home to the first teen.   Today is about something that happened shortly after he moved in.

Social Work loves a meeting.  And a report. 😁  So over the past few months Ive sat round a few tables and zoomed into several conference calls and listened to various professionals talking about me and my teenage lodger.   One social worker wrote a report about the placement and how it was going and said this.  ' Caroline is an exceptional person'

I was surprised and delighted by this - pleased that someone was recognising the extra miles I was going for the young person in my care.  But the word ' exceptional'  lodged in my brain and kept making me smile for days and weeks after the meeting.  And it made me think - the fact is I am exceptional.  But the reason Im exceptional - out of the ordinary, unusual, notable - is because Jesus lives in me.  I serve an exceptional God and so do you.  We SHOULD be regarded as exceptional by the people around us because if we are living as God requires we will look radically different from the rest of the world.  As Christians we should be lavishly generous because God is radically generous to us.  We should be massively patient and longsuffering because....see above.  We should be the kindest people out there.  The most forgiving and merciful.  When people look at our lives they should see total integrity, humility, openness.  If we are living out the Word then our homes should be open, our tables welcoming, our possessions shared and our neighbours needs met.   

Ive been a Christian for over 40 years.   And I am so delighted that over 4 decades Jesus has worked in me to make me like Him so that people who meet me think Im exceptional.   Think of the people you know and admire who are people of faith.  Do they shine?  Are they wonderful?  Do you really admire and respect them?    Why is that?  It's because every thing in them that is good and noble and true is Jesus. 

In our culture we are pretty rubbish at saying nice things about ourselves and we often dismiss the nice things other people say about us.  But once we realise that they arent seeing US as praiseworthy, but God IN us, then it becomes easier to embrace the positive, believe it and give thanks for it.   And then to testify about it.   I might not have the chance to tell the social worker that I am a Christian specifically, but there has been a lot of chat about church and how central that is to us (and to our young lodger, wonderfully enough) and Im trusting that the social worker sees the difference between what we are doing and what other carers are doing and he works out that God is the difference

So today my challenge to you is to believe that you are an exceptional human being.  You are a clay jar which holds immense and invaluable treasure which you might not always see, but those around you do.  Keep going after God and keep living in ways which please Him.  In so doing you will confound the 'wise' and fascinate the wondering.  People will be drawn to the amazing God who lives in and through you.  Its OK if they think it's you that is great - because thats your cue to point them to Jesus and tell them that you are nothing particularly special but that He is more than wonderful.