We Are the Odds
There’s no mistaking it—if you follow Jesus, you’re going to stand out. Not just in a “good person” kind of way, but in an odd way. A way that makes the world tilt its head and squint at you like you’re speaking a different language. And in many ways, you are.
I’ve seen it firsthand. My first 20 years of life were spent walking through the Jesus Movement with my family. We left the General Baptist Association to start from the ground up—a street ministry and a halfway house for hippies. We lived oddly because, well, that’s what God expects. We didn’t fit in with the world, and honestly, we didn’t fit in with a lot of the church culture around us either. But we knew why we followed Jesus, and that changed everything. I’ve seen the power of living that way—the kind of faith that doesn’t just believe but moves, that loves people society has written off, that trades comfort for obedience.
Paul lays it out for us in Ephesians 2:1-3—we were once dead in our sins, following the course of this world, marching in step with the prince of the power of the air. That’s how we used to live. But then Jesus happened.
And now? Now we live in love that looks nothing like the world’s version. John 3:16 tells us that God so loved the world that He gave His Son to save it. But then in 1 John 2:15, we’re warned, “Do not love the world or the things in the world.” Same word—love—but two completely different meanings.
The world says love is whatever makes you happy, whatever serves you. God’s love? It’s self-sacrificing. It’s holy. It’s love that leaves the 99 for the 1, love that walks willingly to a cross, love that lays down its life for its friends.
And because we walk in that love, we are odd—to the world and even to those who live comfortably in it. We don’t chase what they chase. We don’t define success, power, or identity the way they do. And that’s not a loss—it’s the very evidence that we belong to something greater.
Three Enemies We Can’t Ignore
But let’s not be naïve—there are three enemies that every follower of Jesus should never underestimate. These enemies are sly, relentless, and highly effective at getting us to look and act just like the world we’ve been called out of.
1. The World – It pressures, seduces, and wears you down, telling you that success, status, and self-fulfillment are what matter most. It calls you to blend in, to go along with its definitions of truth, love, and purpose. But Jesus warned us: "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first." (John 15:18)
2. The Flesh – It’s the enemy inside the gates—our old nature, that lingering pull toward selfishness, comfort, and sin. It whispers, "You deserve this. You’ve earned it. You’re in control." But Paul reminds us in Romans 8:13, "If you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live."
3. Satan – The deceiver, the accuser, the father of lies. He’s not a cartoon with a pitchfork—he’s a strategist who knows human weakness and exploits it. His goal? To make us ineffective, distracted, and distant from God. 1 Peter 5:8 warns us to "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."
These three enemies work together, reinforcing each other, constantly trying to pull us away from the odd, holy, world-changing life Jesus calls us to.
So, What About Us?
What are the questions at hand for us today? What will you ask God?
Because God’s passion for the world is meant to be our passion. His passion to love the world should shape how we love. His passion for His Church should shape how we serve. His passion to change lives should shape how we live our faith—not passively, but boldly, expecting His Kingdom to break through.
So, be odd. Be the ones who don’t fit. Be the ones who live, love, and lead differently. Because to be odd in the eyes of the world is to be right-side-up in the Kingdom of Jesus.
And that’s not losing. That’s winning.
