Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘unique’

I poured out a cheesy snack into a bowl. You know? The kind that turn your fingers and tongue orange?

What amazed me was how differently they were shaped. Yet, if one took an individual piece and held it in their hand, anyone else, at least in the U.S., would immediately know what it was. They may even snatch it and pop it in their mouths.

All unique and distinct. However, each came from the same bag, the identical batch of dough. From the same recipe, the same processing plant.

As we start into the Lenten season when we traditionally reexamine our faith-walk, the passage from Ecclesiastes is read in our church service. “Remember, o’ man, that you are dust and to dust, you shall return” (3:20).  Are we truly so very different, or much the same?

Image by Elias Sch. from Pixabay A recent TV program stated that 98.5% of our DNA profiles are identical. Astounding, right?

It is that tiny 1.5% that makes up the things we tend to notice as far as looks, personalities, and propensity for diseases. That itsy-bitsy percentage determines our hair color, skin color, eye color, metabolism, capacity to absorb math, and ability to be creative in the arts…or not. And scientists are learning more and more about the things that 1.5% can actually determine.

Why is it we concentrate on all the minute things that make us different? God made us the same and loves us the same. He died for each and every one of us, though many do not realize that fact. They don’t understand the bag they come from, the bowl they belong in.

Maybe if we, who have God’s love flickering inside of us, would concentrate on seeing the similarities, then we could help those who do not know Jesus see the difference He can make in their lives.

As I crunch down on those equally delicious, individually shaped, cheesy squiggles…I wonder.

 

Read Full Post »

As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart. Proverbs 27:19

I have a turnstile on my bathroom dressing area where I keep my colognes, lotions and hair products. Easier to reach. As I spun it to locate my rose scented ones, I noticed the rose water, which is pink, now looked salmon-colored. How unique!

Then I noticed the reason. A bottle with amber liquid behind it shined through the rose water, appearing to change it’s color. As soon as I picked up the rose water, it returned to a soft carnation hue.

God whispered in my ear. This is you.

On my own, I am who I am. You get what you expect you would from a Christian widow my age, race and income level. I am not going to change from a rose to a bird of paradise or an exotic orchid. It’s not my nature.

But when Christ shines through me, I become unique. Oh, I am the same–yet different. I am transformed from the inside out. So are you.

Accepting Christ into our lives doesn’t change who we are. It doesn’t instantly make us skinnier or taller or have fuller wavy hair. We suddenly can’t sing like an angel when before we couldn’t carry a tune. I wish…

But how we appear to the world can change. Our attitudes of serving others before ourselves, or being kind, or forgiving in nature–all the things the world is not used to observing in human behavior is now reflected in our lives because Jesus shines through our hearts.

There is one major difference, however. I could remove the rose water from the amber cologne sitting next to it so it went back to its original color. We may think we can remove ourselves from Christ, but the truth is this: He never quite goes away.

Once we respond to His knocking on our heart’s door and let Him in, a part of Him always remains. We may shut Him out, but He is never far away.  We may assume we are not acting Christian enough and are not worthy to reflect His light but there is still something shining through. And it is beautiful, eye-catching and unique.

Others are not viewing us through rose-colored glasses. We are still “us.” However, they can clearly see Christ’s influence in our lives.

Read Full Post »

%d bloggers like this: