“‘But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people live; no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know that I, the Lord, am in this land.  I will make a distinction^[ between my people and your people. This sign will occur tomorrow.’” (Exodus 8:22-23)

Because the Egyptians would not let God’s people go, they faced a series of God-sent plagues.

Today’s plague on the Egyptians : A plague of flies throughout your land. With one big exception : In the part of your land called  Goshen, where the Jews lived, there will not be flies.

Imagine if you were an Egyptian being eaten up by mosquitos in your yard and your Hebrew next-door neighbors are going  scot-free. That’s quite a sharp distinction between God’s people and those who were not his people.

Is there still a distinction like that for God’s people today ? If so, what does it  look like? Are we protected from disasters and layoffs and bugs ?

First, I will warn against a  bad distinction. That’s when our distinction is being known mainly for what we are against. We become  culture war fighters whose chief  weapon is condemnation. Given how much anger is in the land today, it is easy to get caught up into it.

Jesus makes a much better distinction :

 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)

There surely will always be some things we are against. But a much better way to stand out is to live by showing what we are for: spreading the love of Jesus.

• Devotions
• The Christian Life