“”You are sons of the Lord your God; do not cut yourselves or make a bald spot on your head on behalf of the dead, for you are a holy people belonging to the Lord your God. The Lord has chosen you to be his own possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.” Deuteronomy 14:1-2 CSB https://bible.com/bible/1713/deu.14.1-2.CSB

When Jesus becomes our God, we love Him most, serve Him first, and consistently identify with Him through character and conduct. We come to Jesus through repentance, understanding that our lives have been lived in defiance of God’s ways, experiencing the brokenness of such foolish living, and turning to God for forgiveness, restoration, healing, and direction for future living. Living like Jesus will mean living differently from the world. Christians should not be invisible in the world because their character and conduct are no different from the pagan but should stand out like a light on a hill in goodness, righteousness, and holiness, just as Jesus did when He lived among us as one of us. The world should see the noticeable difference between the Christians and either be attracted to God’s ways or despise further God’s ways and persecute us for not participating in their pagan ways, just as Jesus was persecuted. The Christian life should lead others to Christ or to persecution for Christ. It should not be so bland and indifferent that we continue on day after day, oblivious to the world that we are Christ’s followers. Our lives, words, goals, deeds, and very living should always elevate Jesus so that He can draw people to Himself. Like wheat and chaff, as we live for Christ, constant joy for those coming to Christ and constant sorrow for those hating us because of Christ should be our experience, even as it was for Jesus.