Recently I was listening to a podcast from a Christian source talking about LGBTQ labels and identities. Although I disagreed with some of what was said, it did make me think more broadly about the desire of every human being to find a sense of belonging. We all want to feel that we are loved, accepted, and appreciated, but sometimes we look in the wrong places for that community. Our children and youth are subjected to an increasing number of identity “options,” as well as peer pressure to declare their chosen labels (although some change frequently!). Things were a bit simpler back in my school days when there were just a few cliques based on activities and not usually based on personalities, preferences, and attractions. We all knew that once we graduated most of those groups would disappear.
As Christians, we should be the people who are most comfortable with our identities and community—after all, we belong to the God who created the universe, who made us in His image and adopted us into His eternal family through faith in Jesus Christ. Our core identity as children of God doesn’t change. “You also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to Him who has been raised from the death, in order that we may bear fruit for God” (Rom. 7:4).
In practice, however, many Christians still struggle with feelings of alienation, shame, and rejection. Churches tend to adopt certain standards of what a good Christian or a godly man or woman should look like, and whether we realize it or not, often those standards are based more on conservative culture than on biblical definitions. Some of us may feel like we don’t quite fit in if we look a little different, have different interests, or struggle with certain temptations that are deemed taboo to even talk about. We’re all sinners covered by the mercy and grace of God.
It’s often been said that Sunday morning is the most segregated time of the week. This isn’t just true of race, but of other characteristics as well. Some folks church-hop until they find one where everyone is just like them. Some churches segregate the ages into different groups. Churches separate themselves theologically based doctrinal distinctives. There’s a cowboy church down the road. You name it, there’s probably a church for it.
And yet every true believer is part of the same family, united under the headship of Christ and supposedly pursuing the same mission. What would it take for us to focus more on what we have in common in Christ than on the traits that separate us from other believers? How might we remind one another that we do belong together, even though we are each unique in many ways? I don’t have the answers, but I know that we adults need assurance that we are loved and accepted just as much as our kids do.
“In every nation anyone who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him” (Acts 10:35). “I… urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called… eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:1-2).
© 2023 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.
