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Read: Romans 12:1-2, John 15:19, Psalm 16

God chose you to live differently from the rest of the world. Right now, you might wonder about all the fun so many people enjoy as they party, accumulate romantic partners, chase money and fame, and essentially live for pleasure. Scripture teaches a different way to live.

A chosen life -- lived so differently from the rest of the world -- will forever hold the truth that apart from God, we have “no good thing” (Psalm 16:2). It will forever know how our sorrow and suffering will increase if we chase after anything other than God. It will forever know that abundant life comes through Jesus Christ and not any other pleasure we might pursue. A chosen life is a surrendered life, a life that exalts Jesus Christ and follows Him in obedience (even if the culture disagrees).

A chosen life that exalts Jesus Christ looks like a humble life of service and not self-exaltation. If you think about the number of times Jesus tells us He rewards what we do in secret -- and how He rebukes the scribes for wanting attention and fame -- you might wonder about your own fight for recognition. I know I still battle the longing to perform for public approval and attention. But Jesus cared nothing for superiority, recognition, or outward signs of importance.

A chosen life also rejoices; it’s a life knowing the will of God is that we might “be thankful in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). It’s also a life of purity in speech and action.

As you search the Scriptures to ask God how chosen people live, you will find yourself on a path of freedom and joy rather than the dark and slippery path of the world. Scripture is this “light on [our] path” (Psalm 119:59) that shows us the way to walk with Jesus and live differently from the rest of the world.