Today is human rights day, so who better to feature than Tearfund? These guys are offering up some epic wisdom on how to live different.

Just like the teacher who tells their students to “throw the kitchen sink at it” before an exam; or the sports coach whose team talk finishes with “leave everything on the pitch”; or a parent who tells their kid to “knock their socks off” on the stage of their school musical, we must give our everything to the pursuit of the Kingdom of God.

Romans 12 says:

‘Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out.’ (verses 1-2 MSG)

There’s not one area of our lives that remains unturned when we put our faith in Jesus. God is in the business of restoring all relationships, all of creation, and we’re not holding back.

Yes, the food we eat.

Yes, the clothes we wear.

Yes, the way we get about.

Yes, the stuff we buy.

Yes, the way we treat others.

Tearfund works in some of the poorest areas in 50 different countries worldwide. Poverty for us is personal. We’re very aware of who our neighbours are. Not just those over the garden fence or in our local communities but now, more than ever those in Bangladesh who make our clothes, in North Africa who grow our food or in Brazil who benefit (or suffer) from our actions. They are the people whose fingerprints are on our stuff.

In our connected world, Jesus’ statement to love our neighbour is no less profound.

I’m part of a generation who were sold a lie. That being a Jesus follower is easy. That all it takes is a simple prayer at a Christian event, followed ideally by not drinking too much, not going past first base, being a nice person and praying that my friends would also follow the same path. That the Gospel is just about my relationship with God, my salvation, my ticket to heaven. Me. Me. Me.

To pray ‘Thy kingdom come’ and not consider how my actions every single day affect other people, the planet, how I see myself and my relationship with God just doesn’t stack up. This pulls so much more into focus. Politics, climate change, fashion, food, even my journey to work or school.

We give our ordinary every day, sleeping, eating, going-to-work, school or uni life and we make it count. We’re not overwhelmed by it because small actions taken regularly, particularly when we do it together have a big impact.

We are the generation of Together and we’d love to invite you to join us in a conversation about what it means to #LiveDifferent. Visit lifestyle.tearfund.org to find inspiring articles and videos plus ideas for actions to make this world a better place for everyone.