Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Romans 12:2 (NIV)

Following Jesus will always place your life in tension with the world around you. That tension is not a mistake; it is part of your calling. Countercultural living with and for God creates a different set of allegiances, alternative values, transformed perspectives, deliberate practices, ethical distinctiveness, and prophetic witness.

In other words, salvation rewrites your citizenship. Peter essentially calls believers “resident aliens.” We are in this world, but we are no longer of this world. You still move through earthly systems, neighborhoods, and workplaces, but something in you no longer belongs to the environment you occupy.

Every place you show up, you see things differently. You hear things differently. You interpret things differently. You encounter things differently. You react to things differently. Why? Because your mind has been renewed, your values reshaped, your heart reoriented toward the kingdom.

And when that happens, your presence becomes a witness. “Sanctified” is when you’ve become so countercultural that when you walk into a room, it creates holy ground. If no one feels that shift when you enter the room, it might not be because of how toxic they are but because of how spiritually anemic you are. A sanctified life should create conviction in the spaces it touches—not by force, but by presence.

That is the essence of countercultural discipleship. You once blended into the crowd; now, even if you wanted to, you can’t talk like you used to, you don’t go where you used to, and what you used to think was fun isn’t fun anymore. That change is the evidence of the Spirit at work.

So the invitation today is simple and challenging: embrace your difference. Trust your counterculturalism. Don’t apologize for God’s impact on your life. Don’t shrink back so others remain comfortable. You were not saved to assimilate; you were saved to illuminate.