ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
August 26, 2025
I saw something yesterday that cracked me up. I have been chuckling about it all day. I took a picture and have shown it to others. Guess what? No one else thinks it is at all humorous. If you are wondering whether I know that my sense of humor is weird, I am fully aware of the oddity that is Bruce Frogge. And how Bruce’s brain works, including my sense of humor, would baffle even the greatest neuroscientists. Yet despite not finding anyone to enjoy what I thought to be quite funny, I am continuing to chuckle and fully enjoy what I thought to be funny.
In Psalm 139, according to the translation called the Message, we find the words:
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
I find the spectrum of weirdness in our world to be wonderful. And if you are concerned about my use of the word weird (weirdness), I place not only my sense of humor in that category, but a lot of who I am. When I was fourteen years old, I tried to hide a lot of what made me Bruce. Some of it was my insecurity as a person, but a lot of it was my inability to accept who I was. And even more so was the fear that others would not. In today’s world, I meet a lot of people who might not necessarily fit society’s definition of normal or acceptable, but their uniqueness awakens my curiosity. And in a lot of situations, what I originally did not understand, I came to appreciate. Alongside my curiosity, I also appreciate myself. While it still requires some work, I can resonate with the words from Psalm 139: “I am marvelously made, both body and soul. What a creation!” With all my quirks, if I can view them as part of God’s wonderfully diverse creation, I can probably share that same theological insight when meeting others.
I do thank you, Marvelous God. You truly are breathtaking! I give thanks for the marvelous way I have been woven together, even that stuff that causes others to scratch their heads. It might be weird, but it’s my weird, and I am going to celebrate that you love me… not in spite of the weirdness. You love me because you love me. Amen.
