Have you ever been out shopping and tried on something and it doesn’t quite fit? You struggle and no matter how much you hold your breath it still doesn’t fit. You are shocked that the size you thought you were is no longer valid; you actually lost weight! You go and get something else to try on, to fit into, because you desire to get the right fit.
We try all sorts of ways to fit into things, from the moment we were born; we fitted into our family, fit into school, into work and into friendship groups. What about church? Do you feel that you fit in?
You can fit in at most churches if you live like most of the people that attend. You quietly go once a week because it’s just something you do. You don’t get overly expressive or emotional and you listen to the sermon attentively but not enough to let it sink in.
I believe the key to fitting in at church is accepting one another: Everyone is a unique creation of an almighty God.
God’s church is for everyone. Believer and unbeliever, rich and poor, old and young, extroverted and introverted, we are all unique. We are all different. We have different personalities, different strengths, different experiences, different burdens and different blessings. But everyone has the fingerprint of God on his or her life. God created us and knows us inside out and we have incredible value to God, when we realize this, it changes how we see and treat each other. We see everyone in the manner God sees them, welcomed and valued.
There is a place for everyone in our church. God does not turn anyone away. He accepts all who come to him. So we need to be a place for everyone, where everyone is welcomed and everyone is needed. That is the vision that God had for his church.
Andrew
