The glory which You have given Me I also have given to them, so that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and You loved them, just as You loved Me.
~John 17:22-23
I love my church family. In fact, as I stand at the doorway welcoming people in, I’m in awe every week at the beautiful breadth of nearby residents who enter in. Some who woke up excited to hurry into the House of the Lord for worship. Others who were literally driving by, saw a full parking lot, and decided, “Huh, maybe I should see what’s going on in there.” Others, and I’ve met plenty, woke up in desperation and fear—and it took every ounce of courage they could muster to step foot into a church when “church” meant nothing to them but pain and betrayal. Looking into the eyes of those walking by, I see the buttoned-up and tattooed-up. Clean-shaven suits and long-haired flip-flop-wearing dudes. Saved-at-VBS long-timers and saved-last-night off-the-street newbies. The shy, the bold, the very young, and very old.
Mostly, I like to think of our church body like the Island of Misfit Toys, from that 1964 stop-motion Christmas classic, “Rudolf and Red-Nosed Reindeer.” I mean, every row isn’t lined with perfect Barbies with painted-on smiles or cowboys with flawlessly stitched garb. There are some, for sure. But our chairs hold mostly Charlies-in-the-Box, spotted elephants, birds that swim, winged bears, and square-wheeled trains.
It’s stunning when you think about it—there’s no reason in the world for us all to be gathered in one place. But God. Jesus is the reason we’re knitted together—the broken, the misfits, the normies, and the seemingly flawless. And that’s exactly what He promised and why He came!
All we have to do is look to God’s promises in Genesis to Adam and Abraham, through the Psalms and the Prophets, to the Apostolic letters, to the words of Jesus Himself and to His Revelation. Reconciliation with God is for all and only possible through the Lamb of God—Jesus. And through His death and resurrection, we are not only reconciled to God but also to one another. Jesus invites ALL people to go from darkness to light, from lost to found, from death to life. And once the gift of Jesus is accepted by grace alone through faith alone, believers become one in Christ.
In John’s gospel (chapter 17), Jesus is very clear that His followers are called to be unified SO THAT the world will believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Our oneness reflects the glory of God and the unity of the Trinity. This “perfection in unity” shows the world that the impossible unity of misfit, unalike, imperfect people is possible through Christ. The world would have us hating each other. But through God’s love and by the saving grace of Jesus, we love one another.
So, beloved, look through fresh eyes as you hustle through last-second Christmas shopping, drive through crowded parking lots, and join work and family parties. The family of God is like the Island of Misfit Toys. And everyone you come into contact with could be either a current member of your Island family—or a potential one. During this season where we celebrate Emmanuel—God with us—and once the decorations are all put away, let’s walk in unity and the love of Christ so that the world filled with all us misfits may know Him.
Lord, may I never cease to be in awe of the diversity of Your children and how it is only through Jesus that we are a unified family of broken-to-beautiful people.
encouraged by grace 