Peculiar People

The LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people.

Deuteronomy 14:2 KJV

When the older translations talk about us being “peculiar” people, they mean we’re to be different from everyone else on earth, caring little for the things of the world and living instead for Jesus alone. That sometimes makes us seem peculiar—and some Christians really are.

The nineteenth-century backwoods evangelist Bob Sheffey is a good example. He was known for the unique nature of his prayers, which were often answered in astonishing ways. On one occasion, encountering moonshiners in the mountains, “Uncle Bob” dismounted, knelt, and offered a long prayer for God to “smash the still into smithereens.” He rose, smoothed his trousers, and continued his journey. A heavy tree fell on the still, wrecking it. The owner rebuilt it, and Sheffey prayed again. This time a flash flood did the job. Sheffey’s unorthodox prayers and sermons made him seem peculiar, but they ushered many mountaineers into the kingdom of God.

While we don’t want to be peculiar in a negative sense, we are to be separate from the world, different, living for Christ alone. Is your Christianity enough to make you peculiar?