When I first saw the title of your article, it reminded me of something that happened many years ago. I was friends with a young lady who had recently joined a very strict Church of Christ here in Beattyville. She always wore dresses, never pants. She didn't wear make-up anymore, not would she cut her hair short. She asked me if people saw the 2 of us walking down the street side by side, her in her dress with her long hair and no make-up and me in my blue jeans wearing make-up (I had long hair), which one of us would they think was the Christian? Even back then, I knew that God does not look upon our outward appearance, but looks at the heart. I tried to show her this, but she just couldn't accept it.
A few years later, her husband, the one who had got her into this Church of Christ, left her for another man. She remarried a few years later and her current husband is now in jail.
I'm not sure why I told you all of that, but when other people see us, they don't judge whether or not we are Christians by the way we dress, but by the way we act. Whether the situation is good or bad, we should handle it so that Christ shows through our actions. It is always my desire to show childlike faith, joy, courage, and delight in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Thank you for such a wonderful article, Lynne.