Contemplative Bible Reading

Leviticus 20:8 (Christian Standard Bible)

8 Keep my statutes and do them; I am the Lord who sets you apart.

The people of God are different. They were different in the Old Testament times and, I believe we are different from the rest of the people in the world today.

Note, I am not writing that us followers of God today are BETTER. I am writing that we are DIFFERENT.

We read here that we are different because God makes us different. The translation I quoted uses the words “sets you apart.” The world, according to God, is over there while we are over here. We are separated or apart.

Another translation uses the word sanctify. God sanctifies us. That is a word that we don’t use outside of church. It simply means to take something and set it aside for a special purpose. God sets us aside for a special purpose in God’s plans for creation.

Another translation uses the word Holy. That is another special church word that we don’t use elsewhere. One meaning of Holy is separate or different. A Holy item is one that is different from all the others.

Followers of God are apart from the rest of the people in the world. God put us apart from everyone else because we accepted God in our hearts. This is simple, yet too complex to describe in words (at least I’m not smart enough to describe it in words).

Better? No. Different? Yes. God set us apart to be different.

Different in what ways? Well, if we had a few minutes or a few lifetimes, we could have that discussion. More to come one day on that.