Every year in the Fall I always get a hankering to read an Amish novel series, typically the ones by Beverly Lewis, but that's neither here nor there. It makes me feel all warm and toasty and homey, much like a really great thick sweater does.
Why I have been thinking Amish things (albeit not reading Amish novels) this spring then is beyond me, since it is so out of seasonal character.
Maybe it's because 5 Month City is so far away from the little Amish hamlet I grew up in. Maybe it's because I am getting cynical about the world and want to hide. Or maybe it's because I think they are on to something. Not everything, mind you, but something.
Now, one thing that has to be said is that Amish are not necessarily Christians. Sure, the Bible would be their holy book if asked, but they have a tendency to be governed by things other than the Holy Spirit and the Word of God (money, traditions, peer pressure, respect of elders, and the like). It's true, my family has known some Amish that are sincere Believers, but for the majority---at least from what we know based on all of our interactions and conversations with them---this, sadly, is not the case.
Jonas and his family, for instance, wonderful salt-of-the-earth people, but not Believers.
That being said, I still think they are on to something.
Or maybe the more accurate thing to say would be, I think they are a good visual aid for something.
The other week I was reading my devotions in Hebrews and came across a familiar passage with a now-new thought for me. Hubbs and I have recently been commenting about how our lifestyle is seemingly becoming more and more counter-cultural. We don't mind this at all, as neither of us care much about the opinion of others if we feel like we are walking in the ways of the Lord, but have just been aptly observing and surmising from interactions we have had with folks lately. Ergo, when I came to this Hebrews passage I felt it was all too apropos.
"And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth." (Hebrews 11:13b)
Think about that. That can be a tough admission. It, by nature, makes you admit you are at odds with the world; in a separate camp from those who gladly make their home here. From the "natives."
I don't know if you have spent any time outside of the country (or even in different regions in this country), but there are some places in particular that when you are there it is obvious to everyone involved that someone in the group is a foreigner.....and it's not them. To use the cliche, you stick out like a sore thumb. You feel like you are an intruder, and they all know it to be the case.
I think that's what this verse is getting at. When you admit you are a stranger and, as some translations say "foreigner," it is an immediate claim that you do not do things the way those surrounding you do. You are, with no other options available to you, different. Weird. Strange.
So basically like the Amish. They are strange according to worldly standards.
However. And this is where the difference, unfortunately, comes in.
Amish don't mind. American Christians seem to mind.
Have you noticed it? More and more I see how we don't look any different from the world. We don't act differently, we don't speak differently, we don't entertain ourselves differently, we don't think about time and talents and money and possessions and jobs differently. By all observable standards WE ARE THE SAME.
But what about this big call on my life to be "In the world, but not of it"? I asked myself that morning as I was sipping my decaf and wondering what the sum of my life is. How can I be in this world--- BUT NOT OF IT? How can I stop from looking the same as those who do not claim to know Christ personally?
So basically how can I be more Amish? Without of course being Amish?
The issue comes, though, in that Amish are not in the world hardly at all. And primarily due to their choosing, although it can't go without being said that the world (or at least the town where I am from) doesn't really want them there either. It's like the Amish make them uncomfortable.
But imagine if you can what it would be like if the Amish DID try to be a part of the world. If they remained exactly as they were, strange, foreign, and with a completely different worldview, but tried to live in the world up to the extent that their way of life let them. Just mingling with the natives, yet being nothing like the natives.
It begs the question. Would the natives accept them? Would they let them continue to be as they are while still doing business and rubbing shoulders ?
In all honesty, that does not seem likely. Being different is not a highly accepted form of existence.
And this I think is where the rub comes in. Christians, by Biblical definition, ARE different. We are called to different lifestyles-- ones of holiness and purity, we are called to different attitudes-- ones of joy and thankfulness and hope, we are called to view earthly treasures and possessions differently--with contentment and generosity. I could go on and on. In view of the Word of God, there is not much we are to do that looks like how the world does the same thing.
But the world does not accept us to let us be like that. They are fine with us in the world, so long as we are of it. They are fine that we are with them, so long as we conform to the patterns they have set forth. They don't mind us, so long as we stop being so strange. So foreign. So very different.
Which is no problem of theirs.
I have no interest in changing the world's thoughts about me. My interest is in changing their thoughts about Jesus and his Word.
My real concern then can only be with the family of God.
We have been called by a saving grace and to a very different lifestyle. Something that should look almost "Amish" according to the worlds standards it is so strange.
And so we get our lives on track with the Lord, head on out into the world so we can be in it while trying not to be of it, but then at the first sight of the world going "We don't like how you do things differently than us," rather than us responding with "That's ok, I don't need your approval to be a Christian" (Galatians 1:10) we start saying "Oh my! You don't like how we do things?!?! Oh! Ok! Which conviction and command by God upon my life would you like me to change to make you feel more comfortable??!?!!!" and therefore conform to "the pattern of this world."
Listen, I am not by any means saying that we should throw all niceties to the wind. Even though I say I love a good conflict, I really would rather not have one. And I firmly believe in what Hebrews says just one chapter later: "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy." The trouble is, I believe in both of those commands. The peace and the holiness. And whichever way you slice it, an unholy world does not like holiness-seeking people.
I also confirm what Romans 12 says when it admonishes "If it is possible, as far as it is up to you, live at peace with everyone." This denotes the great chasm, though: Sometimes, it is just not up to us. No matter how much effort we exert they do not want our peace if it involves us not changing our positions and world views. As I Peter 4:4 says, "They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you."
The darkness hates the light. It cannot comprehend it (John 1:5). It could not thousands of years ago, it still cannot today.
And this is what I love about the Amish. They are so strange. Really, truly, unlike anything else in this country, this society.
Yet---and this is the visual aid----, strange as they absolutely are, they never apologize. Amish don't ever try to change how they live because of what WE, the "Englishers," think about them. You could tell Jonas and his family that you don't like how they live. That how they view the world and what they believe offends you. And you know what? They wouldn't care. And they most certainly would not apologize to you. After all, why would they? They never agreed to meet your standards, so they will not make amends when they miss your mark.
Wolfies , we are called to be respecters of persons, for all "persons" are made in the image of the God we say 'Yes' to. We are called, as far as it is up to us, to live at peace, but we are called, above all else, to be holy. Set apart. Sanctified. A people reserved for God. In this world, but so very not of it. Strange. Foreign.
And, even when abused for the sake of Christ and his gospel, unapologetic. It would be one thing if we were Amish and our rules and codes of conduct were man-made , but ours are not. We are not the King, just the King's messengers. May we never apologize for the claims and call of Christ upon our lives.
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