Not from Here

When we lived in North Woodstock, New Hampshire, for three years, there was a local election for city council, I believe.  One of the men running for the office was Jim Fadden.  He was born and raised in a town twelve miles north of where we lived, but had moved to town and owned a couple of wildly successful businesses.  He also cooked up award-winning maple syrup every spring. Unbelievable stuff!  Jim was totally invested in the town, but during the election, you could hear the local folk saying, "He's not from here."

I could have understood if they said that about me (and they did) since I was not only "not from here", I was a flatlander living in the White Mountains.  In those parts, "flatlander" is not a compliment.  What I didn't understand was that a mere twelve miles separated him from the locals.  His hometown was just as mountainous, just as much of a tourist area (maybe even a little more famous for the man-of-the-mountain face and the home of Robert Frost for a time.)

It occurred to me that for Christians, no matter how closely we live or work with non-Christians, if we live out our beliefs, they will always idenitfy us as "not from here".  While they mean it as a diss, we should take it as a compliment.  It proves we are doing what we are called to do - being the salt and light in this world.

Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi