Yesterday I found myself contemplating how Christians, myself included, do not look particularly different from anyone else in society, except perhaps Sikhs, orthodox Jews, orthodox Muslims, and, well, some Christians.
I was on the edge of a river watching for white water rafts in Kananaskis with my family. Another family was hanging out there, clearly from a Mennonite tribe. We spoke briefly about the rafts, they bore no accents in particular. The children and father were in traditional modern garb, but the mother wore a long, modest, patterned dress and a covering for her hair. Her dress alone marked the family as one of Christian faith. I thought it remarkable that they had no idea that I also profess faith in Jesus Christ unless I told them (I didn't).
A couple passages from the Bible came to mind immediately:
Ye are the children of the Lord your God: ye shall not cut yourselves nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. For thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto Himself above all the nations that are upon the earth. Deuteronomy 12:1-2
By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples: if ye have love one for another. John 13:35
So, how visible should Christ's followers be in their dress? Or, and I like this question far more, how radical should our love for one another be that we be immediately recognized as Christians?
