One of the most startling occurrences during the COVID pandemic was meeting people with their masks on and then seeing them later with their masks off. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it was always different from the picture I had in my mind. 

For those of us who have had the veil of unbelief lifted from our faces, the reveal is just as startling. “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). The world expects us to look one way, but when we profess Christ as our Lord and Savior, we begin to look like him. 

So if you get comments from people like, “You just have a different energy” or, “You’re always so happy,” use that opportunity. Use that as an opening to tell others what Jesus has done for you. Don’t leave them wondering if you’ve found the secret pill or hack to being happy. Don’t gatekeep the reason for your joy. Be ready to give an answer for the hope you have (see 1 Peter 3:15).

And if you get comments like, “Why so glum, chum?” and, “Why so sad, Chad?” or non-rhyming questions like, “What is WITH you today?”—you might want to take that to heart. Indeed, why are you downcast? You have seen the glory of God! That question is a chance to reframe your melancholy: “I’m sorry. You just caught me feeling homesick for heaven.”