They both have tails. They each have four legs. They’re the same color. Are you able to tell the difference between a mouse and an elephant? While they do have some similarities, if provided with a picture of a mouse and a picture of an elephant, I am quite confident that we would have had a 100% success rate in correctly identifying the mouse picture and the elephant picture.
Could we all do the same with two fingerprints? While every single fingerprint is unique, they tend to look very similar, don’t they? And, especially without the aid of any magnification, if we were provided with two actual-size images of unique fingerprints, I don’t have the same level of confidence that we’d all be able to tell the two apart.
When it comes to being a Christian, which category do you fall into? Do you, like two fingerprints, look almost indistinguishable from everyone else in the world who is not a Christian? Does your life mirror that of an unbeliever so that an objective observer would struggle to determine if there’s any difference between the two of you? Or, is the difference so clear, so obvious to others, that it’s like comparing a mouse to an elephant – distinguishing one from the other is insultingly easy?
If right now you’d identify more with the fingerprint group than the mouse/elephant group, you’re not alone. Many believers are right there with you. And many unbelievers would be all too happy to agree with you and validate your assessment. After all, one of the top reasons unbelievers are turned off by Christianity is that they claim to see virtually no difference between themselves and their believing friends or acquaintances. But if right now you’d identify more with the fingerprint group than the mouse/elephant group, let’s be willing to put in the work together toward changing that as we focus on What Makes Christians Different?
To do that, we have to guard against immediately slipping into a behavioral mindset. Though it might sound like it, we’re not just talking about external behavior modification. What makes Christians different doesn’t start with what they do; it starts with who they are… and more to the point, who makes us that way. So, to figure out what makes us different, we look first not to our own character, but to the cross.
The cross wasn’t even a thing yet at the time Moses was leading his people out of Egypt into the promised land. Yet, ironically, Moses knew from first-hand experience exactly what Jesus was describing when he would later speak about picking up one’s cross and following him. Moses had a heavy cross to bear, and it came in the shape of the Israelites. What’s more, Moses knew full well that such a cross was beyond his own ability to bear. He needed help. He couldn’t do it alone. He needed the promise of God’s presence.
Let’s back up just a bit. Where we find ourselves dropped right into the 33rd chapter of the book of Exodus, God’s people, the Israelites, were on the front end of their exodus out of slavery in Egypt and into the wilderness. To establish their priorities and provide guidance for how his rescued and redeemed people were to be set apart and conduct their lives, God beckoned Moses to join him on Mt. Sinai. There he would relay to Moses his protective command and instruction for his people.
Sadly, their session was cut short as God furiously alerted Moses to the disturbing and potentially devastating behavior that was going on among the Israelites back at camp. Having been influenced by the heathen Egyptians, and having had their request condoned and carried out by Aaron, they began the detestable practice of idol worship. With astonishing haste, they quickly traded in the true God for a golden calf.
The Lord dismissed Moses to head back down the mountain and deal with the Israelites while God himself did everything he could to hold back his rage and not destroy them altogether. As a result of their behavior, God refused to be present among his people as he had been previously, and instead sent an angel in his place. He would no longer personally accompany Israel as they made their way to the promised land. While God still promised to be present with Moses in a special tent they could meet in outside of camp, he would no longer be present among the Israelites.
In humble confidence, while Moses surely appreciated the personal blessing of being able to meet with the Lord individually, he recognized that if God wasn’t with all of Israel, his leadership would be a lost cause. Moses alone was not up to the task. So he pleaded for God to return his presence among his people. You sense the self-doubt in Moses’ request. “Moses said to the Lord, ‘You have been telling me, “Lead these people,” but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, “I know you by name and you have found favor with me.” If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people’” (v.12-13). As he addresses God, it might sound like he’s pushing back or challenging God, but in reality, it’s more like, “What’s wrong with me? What am I not doing right that leaves me feeling as if I’m all on my own here, Lord? What do I need to do for the God who parted the Red Sea and swallowed swarms of soldiers to show up and pave the way for his people?”
Look at God’s powerful promise to Moses. “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (v.14). Full stop. That’s not just something; that’s everything! God promised to personally accompany Moses and ease his burden with real rest.
Consider the storyline of any movie or book involving an inexperienced main character who chooses to embark on a necessary journey. There is always a more experienced guide or expert that the main character connects with before departing. It’s one thing for that character to speak favorably about the main character’s journey and maybe even express confidence in the successful outcome, but it’s another thing for that experienced guide or expert to actually personally go along on the adventure and accompany the main character; to be present.
Moses’ response demonstrated that he realized the weight behind God’s promise to be present with him. “Then Moses said to him, ‘If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?’” (v.15-16). What did Moses point to as the distinguishing marker between God’s people and everyone else on earth? Hint: it wasn’t their external behavior. It wasn’t their grumbling and complaining or lack thereof. It wasn’t how magnificent and impressive their worship or their offerings were. He pointed to God’s presence as the distinguishing mark between God’s people and the rest of the world.
As we take Moses’ dialogue with God to heart, we have the answer we need to the question of what makes Christians different. We answer that question with another: “What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” (v.16b). The implied answer to Moses’ rhetorical question was God’s presence.
Where God is not present, everything looks the same. It is all a world washed in the grays of self-centeredness, violence, and immorality. Where God and his light are not present, there is darkness and gloom. Where God is not present, there is an empty meaninglessness.
You know this in your own life, don’t you? Sin looks harmless enough, but it always ushers in the looming clouds of guilt and shame. When we give in to the temptation to distance ourselves from the light and explore the darkness, when has it ever ended well? Just as the lion cub, Simba, the main character in The Lion King, found himself unnecessarily in trouble when he ignored his father’s warning and ventured into the shadow lands, the place the light does not touch, so we go against better judgment when we imagine God hiding or withholding something from us when we’re so close to him. We cluelessly venture away from him.
How do we avoid this repeated trouble? We continue to pursue God’s presence. And where do we find it? Where is God present? He is wherever his Word is at work in the hearts and lives of his people. The same Jesus who invites us to receive his rest in the Gospel of Matthew explained, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them” (Mt. 18:20). And what does it mean to gather in his name? We don’t have God’s name – his reputation and all that we know about him – apart from or without the Word. If we don’t have the Word, we don’t have God’s presence. His Word is where he reveals himself.
Only in his presence do we find the rest we crave. Not an apathetic laziness that pretends adulting is too hard and chooses to passively ignore our responsibilities. That isn’t rest; it’s more sin, so don’t be surprised when it only drains us more. The rest we crave isn’t found in escaping toward entertainment and avoiding life’s hardships by sticking our heads in the sand. That, too, is sin, when we’re abdicating our Christian calling. The rest we desire isn’t found in a drug-induced high, recreational or otherwise, or a few more drinks to unwind and lighten the load. That’s also sin, when moderation was buried a long time ago by piles of excess. Those things will never provide rest, no matter how long it takes us to figure it out.
The other problem we find ourselves in? While we know where God is present, we prefer to be in the driver’s seat, going where we want, doing what we want, and expect God to be present where we are. But God isn’t present in the way that delivers real rest when we’re at the baseball diamond, on a hike, at the beach, or sleeping in. None of those places provide real rest. But God’s presence does. And since he’s always present where his Word is, where else would we go?
The Lord revealed his presence to Moses in a unique way. He hid Moses in a rock cleft and passed by with his glory for Moses to witness. The only condition was that the most Moses could witness was God’s back, not his front or his face, as Moses would not have been able to withstand the splendor of God’s glory to the fullest. Just as we don’t look directly at the sun unless we want to go blind, no fallen sinner could possibly stand to see the full expression of God’s glorious presence.
Nevertheless, God reveals his presence to us in a unique, albeit less showy, way. His Word. Sung. Proclaimed. Taught. Digested. Studied. Memorized. His Supper. Received. Refreshed. Baptism. Remembered. Relished. God’s presence is where his Word is at work, and where his Word is at work, we find rest.
This is what makes Christians different: we pursue God’s presence, because we know and believe that there we will find rest. Every time. Without fail. So maybe today, this month, this series, is an invitation to you. An invitation to stop negotiating with yourself. To stop compromising. An invitation to re-prioritize being in God’s presence, in God’s Word, in God’s house. Isn’t that really kind of an essential step in what makes Christians different – where we spend Sunday morning? If we can’t even commit to that, why would we expect there to be any other evidence in our lives that we’re different from the rest of the world? Come into God’s presence. Weekly. Not only will that activity make you different from the rest of the world, but it will better center you on what God has done for you in Jesus to make you different, all while graciously providing you with unrivaled rest for your soul.