It Takes All Kinds

 

I remember Cordelia as a woman from my childhood who attended my little country church. Cordelia stood out among the farm women in the congregation. Her trim figure displayed showy, colorful clothing topped off with large stylish hats as she sat in the pew Sunday after Sunday.

Cordelia’s husband wasn’t a farmer like most of the men of the congregation either. They lived in a tidy little ranch house at the edge of the small town nearby. Cordelia painted in oils, and had quite a reputation for her artistry. Yet, here she sat with her red fingernails, in her mink stoles that intrigued me with their beady eyes, and her just-so demeanor.

I wonder if the Early Church, in the book of Acts, had characters like Cordelia—just a little out of place style-wise, but perfectly at home in God’s house. I think I’ve found such a woman in Acts, chapter sixteen. Her name was Lydia, a Gentile from Thyatira in Asia. She was known as a “seller of purple.” She apparently had means, influence, and a large enough house to serve as the church meeting place in Philippi.

This woman, if not the first, must have been one of the first converts to Christianity in the continent of Europe. As soon as the Lord opened her heart, she and her household were baptized, and immediately she offered hospitality to the evangelistic team who had come to their region. Her life had been changed by her meeting with Jesus Christ through the ministry of Paul.

Sometimes Christians pre-judge others by outward appearance, by how they “fit it” and “look the part.” Galatians 2:6 makes it clear:

“God does not judge by external appearance.”

In 1 Samuel 16:7, the Lord said to Samuel:

“The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Wouldn’t it be fun to find a Lydia right smack-dab in the middle of our church that doesn’t “look” like we might expect her to? Be alert! There probably is a one-of-a-kind, genuine, disciple there who doesn’t look the part (as we would see it). God may have some wonderful surprises ahead. He doesn’t see things the same way we do.