The word “peculiar” is normally used to describe an entity that does not fit into the mold ascribed to it by the society in which it exists.  Though the word can be used in both a positive and a negative sense, it is normally used in a derogatory manner.  Beginning early in life we human beings learn that those who differ physically, mentally, economically, spiritually, etc. from the general population are viewed negatively by the “normal” people who make up 99.9% of the population.  These are they who design and fit into the “right” mold.  “Abnormal” is another term that is commonly used to characterize those “unusual” people in a society who, like the proverbial square peg in a round hole, do not “fit in.”  These abnormal people are automatically valued at a lower level than the “normal” people who set the standard for social acceptability.  If one is in some way different from the general population–is “peculiar–one is given a lower social class designation than “normal” people and is treated accordingly.  Because of the social stigma attached to the label, most people will do whatever is necessary to avoid it.  Having been born into a family of sharecroppers and field hands (the lowest classification of humanity in my part of the world) I learned early on that we had our “place” in the society and that we were expected to stay in that place.  I remember as if it was yesterday the exact moment I learned what my “place” was and exactly how I was evaluated by those not in my “place.”  I was nine years old.  Though it has been 70 years since the incident took place, it is as fresh in my mind as if it had happened yesterday.  Little did I realize that after I had worked my way out of my assigned “place” I would once again find myself living in it.  But this time the reason for living in my “place” is different.  This time it does not involve my wallet.  This time it involves my heart.  Initially I had no choice but to live in that “place.”  Now the decision is mine.  During my first stay there I dreamed of leaving.  Now I refuse to live anywhere else.  Seventy years ago I was relegated to the bottom rung of the social latter due to financial matters.  Now I stand on that rung due to spiritual matters.  Back then I hated the stigma of being “peculiar.”  Now I wear it like a badge of honor.  For obvious reasons people of a society want to fit in, to be one of the crowd.  Human beings will do whatever is necessary to be valued and accepted by their fellow citizens.  No segment of a society wants to be labeled “peculiar.”

With one exception.  There is a group of people whose constant, heart-focused, all-encompassing, all-consuming desire is to be so different from the people around them that they stand out in sharp contrast to them.  These lazar-focused individuals’ desire for total abnormality is so powerful that they willingly accept being rejected by the “normal” people around them, including their own family members.  In some cases their peculiarity causes their fellow citizens to hate them, and in some cases, to kill them.  Read God is a Segregationist.  Use “Segregationist” as your key word.

An internet article I recently read put me on this thought track.  The article told about NGC 2608–an interstellar galaxy in the distant heavens that, because it differs from the galaxies around it, has been placed in a special category labeled “Peculiar Galaxies.”  These extremely few, very extraordinary clusters of stars differ from all other clusters so profoundly that they stand out in sharp contrast to the other galaxies that can be seen through the Hubble Space Telescope.  NGC 2608 is only one of approximately 12 trillion (12 zeroes) known galaxies in the universe.  “Peculiar Galaxies” are extremely rare, comprising only a tiny fraction of the KNOWN galaxies.  Astronomers admit that there are probably many  more galaxies that they have not discovered.

The previous paragraph tells us what being labeled “peculiar” really means.  Whether it involves a particular grain of sand in the Sahara Desert or a true–“peculiar”–Christian in a religious community numbering in the tens of thousands, the label fits.  Unlike the grain of sand, “peculiar” people know who and what they are in the eyes of those around them. Because “peculiar” people know, believe and obey the Book that the “normal” people own and claim to believe, they are spiritual outcasts.  Just as darkness hates light, normal people hate peculiar people.  During His time on earth Jesus called such social rejects His “little flock,” His “remnant,” His “Very Elect,” His “holy saints,” His “peculiar people.”  His Holy Bible reminds us that the “peculiar” label and the stigma it carries still apply to those who believe and obey It.  In His Book of Truth the Lord tells us that, of the billions of people who have embraced, now embrace and will embrace some version of Christianity, only a “few” will believe and obey His rules of engagement that govern the true Christian walk.  As a result, only a “few” will be awarded eternal life upon His return (Mat. 7:13,14).  Jesus tells us that, though He will call “many” to obey His rules of holiness, only a “few” will be chosen for having answered His call (Mat. 10:22; 20:16).  JESUS TELLS US IN HIS HOLY BIBLE THAT ONLY A FEW SALVATION SEEKERS ARE WILLING TO BE CALLED “PECULIAR.”  ONLY THOSE WHO EMBRACE THE LABEL WILL RECEIVE WHAT THEY SEEK.

The Lord’s abnormal, uncommon, peculiar saints, like their galactic counterparts, manifest “unusual properties (holiness, righteousness) and processes (words, thoughts and deeds).”  They differ totally from the billions of people who call themselves by God’s name, claim oneness with Him, meet on Sunday, carry Bibles, wear crosses, quote Scriptures, preach sermons, baptize people, build churches, etc.  Their peculiarity, their stark contrast to those of the “normal” group causes them to be rejected on the spiritual level by those in the vast majority who belong to “the church.”  But the rejects are in extremely good company.  Recall that though Jesus taught tens of thousands of people, miraculously fed thousands of them, healed their bodies and rid them of evil spirits, only about 120 stood up to be counted when the going got tough.   Such will be the case when the vast majority of humanity, including “the church,” is flung into the Great Tribulation.  Jesus gave a series of signs that those of humanity’s final generation would see take place.  He noted that those signs would alert them that His return was imminent.  All but one of those signs has come to pass.  This generation will see the final sign materialize within the next few years.  This final sign is revealed by Jesus Himself in Luke 21:20-28.  The armies He refers to are now gathering in Western Europe and becoming more powerful with each passing day.  Watch Jerusalem–the center of God’s universe–for it is there that the Great Tribulation will begin.  L.J.