Nonconformist Faith 06

Slab of Slate

The nonconformist is a slate floor.

Have you ever seen a genuine slate floor? It’s rather common in nice middle-class homes in Europe. If the house is a couple of centuries old, you’ll see that the floor near the front door has just a little bit of wallowing, where the slate has been slightly worn away by the millions of times feet have slid across it. The whole reason for using slate is that it is one of the hardest materials in nature, and it takes literally centuries of traffic to show any signs of wear.

You need to be like stone when it comes to representing Christ in this world. Yes, bear the load, but don’t buckle or break. You know that people are going to walk on you. It shouldn’t make any difference; it’s seldom anything personal. Christ makes you strong enough to bear the load. You can serve His divine purpose without reacting to all the provocations men can dream up.

Nothing men do will change you or your position. By the same token, there’s nothing you can do to halt the flow of traffic off into Hell. The issue is that you can provide a model of stability and persistence in a very shaky world. Some few whom the Lord has touched will notice the difference your life makes and be drawn to your testimony.

Keep in mind that this has nothing to do with your personality. The whole point is that regardless of how you react on the surface, the core of who you are is unaffected by human folly. They can’t take Christ away from you; He’s part of who you are. Somewhere beneath the surface of your human interactions, Christ makes you a solid rock of stability and wear resistance.

In some ways, the call to follow Christ means being a slate floor.