ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
June 4, 2023
Have there ever been people who defined you based on one thing they knew about you? Very few things, by themselves, can really define a person. Society, and even more so, marketing, tries to pigeonhole us, and too often people allow themselves to be put inside a very narrow box of someone else’s conception. I’m going to guess that none of us fit inside any single box outside of the one God created when God designed the uniquely wonderful boxes that we call ourselves. In Psalm 139, we read: “Body and soul, I am marvelously made” (The Message). There are moments in life when we are given the opportunity to see the breath-taking fullness of humanity, with every attribute filling in the broad rainbow spectrum of possibilities. Sadly, we have attempted to define what is normal, good, or beautiful, and then imposed those very drab and narrow expectations upon the world around us. Those are the moments the Spirit seeks to speak through the church, giving us the words: “I am marvelously made, and so are you and you and you…” Don’t let any box define you, especially one someone else has delivered as your new living quarters.
Help me to own and enjoy the marvelous person I am, O God, while never allowing my enjoyment to hinder my neighbors from discovering and enjoying their own unique and amazing selves. In fact, I hope to come alongside as many people as possible with a word of joyful affirmation. Amen.
