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Lately I've been following Soul Journey http://www.gospelcom.net/rbc/sj/today.php. The devotional entries are geared to '20 somethings' - a category I passed some time ago - and the "destination points" are often not where I am challenged to grow. But here's the part that gets me. The daily devotionals lead me to scripture and there I find myself regularly tormented by what it means to follow Christ.

I Peter 2, "11Friends, this world is not your home, so don't make yourselves cozy in it. Don't indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. 12Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they'll be won over to God's side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives." What does an exemplary life look like? Not long ago I overheard a friend of mine, a seeker, say that she was looking for "... someone who handled life differently because of their faith." She's not banging on my door with questions about faith and God and, quite frankly, knowing what she has gone through, I believe her to be a stronger person than I am.

The words "don't make yourselves cozy", are haunting because even in my most God-focused moments I am just that. Only a bit ago I could have and would have clearly articulated all of the standard "truths" that I have learned and found comfort (coziness?) in over the years. I could highlight the "exemplary life" with biographical and autobiographical sketches. But why, then, are the comforts of knowing, loving, worshipping and serving God having only the smallest of impact in a world so overflowing with need - it is as though there is a fundamental disconnect in translation.

I'm not looking for a litany of theology - this searching goes much deeper into the depths of my soul. What does a non-cozy redeemed life look like? In terms of working out my faith before others I am left perplexed, struggling... destination unknown.