Line In the Sand

Have you ever been to the East Coast before??? It's like an entirely different world. I was talking to a friend the other day and as we were talking I realized that there is this huge difference spiritually between the East Coast and the Midwest. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but when I lived on the East Coast, faith was just something people talked about at church. Christianity was on everyone's list of who they are, but, you couldn't see the difference between a Christian and someone who wasn't. Here, in Indiana, there is this distinct line being formed. You either serve God or you don't and it's totally obvious either way who is who. I believe that we are in a time when it isn't good enough just to "call" ourselves Christians. We have to live it and breathe it and everyone should see it in us. If we can blend in, we have missed the entire point. Jesus and his disciples did not blend in. They stuck out! Everyone knew who Jesus was when he walked through the streets. People knew who his followers were. There was a distinct line in the sand, so to speak. In the first years of Christianity people who were Christians would draw a symbol of a fish in the sand to identify themselves as a Christian. Only Christians knew this secret symbol. It wasn't safe to just say outright "I am a Christian," so, it was like a code language when finding other Christians. Is that how we are living today? Draw a symbol in the sand, because we are still living in fear? The persecution of Christians is not fake, it really happens all over the world. They have to hide their faith and meet hidden away where no one can see them so that they won't be beaten or worse, killed. We are a lot safer living in America. I think we owe it to the LORD to make sure people know us instead of us hiding who we are. The world doesn't need another secret society. The real Christians need to shake off the fear of man. There have been countless times when I have met people who only talk about their Christian faith when they are around other Christians, otherwise it's hidden like they have a secret life. We shouldn't be a Peter, who denied who he was. What is there to lose? Everything. What is there to gain? Everything and more.