The Mystique of Being Unconventional

Artists are often thought to be a little peculiar, so in college I took advantage of being an Art Major to be unconventional.  My clothes were splashed with my current projects: pottery mud, paint, or ink, and sometimes blood from the slip of an X-Acto knife. I generally wore the same clothes through the completion of each art project for maximum effect, even if it required a couple of weeks.  I enjoyed pushing the boundaries of “normal” and “acceptable,” and identified with other creative “loose-screw” personalities.

I suppose it was fitting that I met Jesus in a most unconventional way; not through a human witness or attending a church, but in my darkest, most isolated moment.  The short story is that Jesus stepped from His spiritual existence into my physical reality with a face-to-face encounter.  His Presence illuminated my sin and willfulness giving me no place to hide.  But His embracing love eviscerated the condemnation I felt and deserved.  In His unconditional love, I was forever changed.

To my great delight in studying Jesus’ life and ministry, I found Him to be the most unconventional person I had ever met.  He wasn’t unconventional for the sake of trying to be different, but because He was “super” natural as the Son of God.  Jesus spoke truth that made ears tingle and hearts leap, while correcting those who thought they knew it all.  He also took advantage of and often created teachable moments, punctuating them with miracles.  Notably, He rarely did anything the same way twice, yet He always achieved life-changing results.

One interesting example is recorded in Mark 8:22-26 when Jesus healed a blind man in Bethsaida.  Although he was brought to Jesus by a group of people, Jesus took his hand and led him outside the village.  There Jesus spat on the man’s eyes before putting His hands on him.  In Jewish culture, spitting on someone was an insult intended to degrade and humiliate.  Had the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law witnessed this, they would have been indignant and infuriated.  While Jesus healed many with simply a word or a touch, was it possible He was cursing this blindness by spitting on it, making way for the release of power to heal?  The fact that the man initially saw people looking like trees walking around seems to support that Jesus knew more was needed. Yet even this variant of infirmity was no match for Jesus’ authority and abandoned its victim when confronted again.

God does not operate like man who discovers a method that works then repeats it because it is successful. Not only are God’s options limitless, but He knows that predictability in certain venues can enable the opposition.  God’s plan for the salvation of the world was so far beyond unconventional that it could not be fathomed by Satan or by man.  That is why Jesus’ disciples could not understand when He told them plainly, “The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.” (Luke 24:7)

While God’s message of everlasting love to His people has not changed, Biblical Truth often seems unconventional: loving your enemies, serving instead of being served, counting hardships as pure joy, dying in order to live, and much more.  Trying to do these things can be daunting, but “[God] is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.” (Ephesians 3:20)  For those of us who gravitate to the unconventional, God always retains the right to work unpredictably. “Haven’t you read: