Life...

Being unique has become kind of trendy around here at SPU. People continually strive to be just the right kind of unique. But when uniqueness becomes trendy it starts to become all the same and it misses the point. Uniqueness begins to assimilate, it fails to see those who are different, those who truly are unique. The point is we have been created by God as individuals that are distinct and it's truly an incredible thing. By being created in the imago dei our diversity is significant. It gives us a glimpse of just how vast and awe-inspiring our God is, it makes the Christian community all the more effective. I'm thinking along the lines of 1 Corinthians 12.

I know a lot of truly unique people who are different because they are themselves. I love them for that. But these people are often the ones at the margins of our community. They aren't trendy unique. They are just the ones who feel confident enough in themselves to be the person God has created them to be. They are so real, they are so accepting, they play solely for the approval of Christ, they love people as God loves people.

I've learned a lot from them, especially as someone who has felt so greatly the pressure of conformity. I want to be myself so badly but in so many ways I strive to be someone else's unique, a trendy unique. It's the natural human tendency. But as the Christian community we have to look outside the borders and to those on the margin...to observe those who really are different! Maybe they are the ones who truly know what it means to be the creation God has intended them to be. We have to join them in seeking God for individual identity.

Yes, it's a scary world outside those borders. You can end up on the opposite side of popular opinion. But if it means entering a world of life and community as intended by God I'm willing to take the risk. I'm willing to allow God to dictate my true uniqueness and to participate in a community that understands, "the body is not made up of one part but of many."