I heard an interesting tale yesterday about a designer named Lilly Pulitzer. Apparently, her beautiful creations were quite pricey. Somehow, though, in the settling of her estate a deal was brokered to offer some of her designs through the Target stores, for a limited time. Two friends of mine, in two separate locations, were sharing with me about their experiences at their local Targets yesterday morning, particularly about how other people acted in their quest to obtain "a Lilly Pulitzer".
Originality - - - humans have a "love-hate" relationship with it. In some cases, we love it, crave it, want it. In other cases, we ostracize it, criticize it, penalize it.
The Triune God is endlessly creative. He created man in His image. Yet, the apostle Paul calls each of us "an original". Wow.
We are now at the end of chapter 5 of Galatians and will be, this morning, focusing on the last 2 verses, 5:25-26. (The Message)
Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.
"the kind of life we have chosen..."
Last night I was talking with a friend about how, in the end times, the antichrist will force all people to take "the mark of the beast" in their bodies. There has always been a lot of speculation as to what that mark would look like or be; but, one thing we do know from Scripture is that people will be forced by the tyrannical world ruler to take it. God does not work that way in our lives. He forces no one to choose Life, to choose Jesus Christ. The decision is meaningless to Him unless it is truly ours. (While I am grateful for that, it frustrates me. Aren't there some people in your life that you wish God would just "bop them" over the head and force them to accept Him?)
"Each...an original"
There are a couple of pitfalls with celebrating originality and individuality. Paul details one of them in Galatians 5:27. This is the tendency to compare ourselves with each other and to either stifle our own God-given gifts or to conform needlessly in order to look like/be like someone else. (We women are especially susceptible to this particular trap.)
The second pitfall is to use our uniqueness as an excuse to sin. In this case we do what Paul described in Galatians 5:25 - - - having "head knowledge" of Christ, but refusing to allow Him to change us, to transform us into His image, to renew our minds, to sanctify us. "Oh, well, that's just the way I am...." is often overheard, in an attempt to excuse sin, to keep Christ's transformative Spirit out of our secret sin strongholds. I call this the Gollum Way - - - "My Precious! My Precious!" The J.R.R. Tolkein fans out there will understand...
Neither of these life-practices is what Christ Jesus died for; neither is what He intended for His Beloved.
Since each of us was created to be unique among all other people on the earth, all who were ever created or who will ever be created, and since each of us Christ-followers has chosen this life of the Spirit, how should we then live?
Paul says the key is to let the Spirit permeate our entire existence.
In the book of Colossians (2:6-7), Paul admonishes those Christ-followers similarly:
Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.
1. Choose Jesus Christ as Savior (if you have not already made that decision) because if you have not, none of the rest matters.
2. Celebrate the fact that you were created in the image of God (Imago Dei) and that He created you an "original"!
3. Don't try to be some other human being.
4. Imitate Jesus Christ! Yield to the transformative power of the Holy Spirit in Your life through allowing His presence to soak into even your smallest decisions and acts. (This is what it means to "pray without ceasing"! 1 Thessalonians 5:17)
5. Be thankful for the outrageous gifts God has given you through Jesus Christ.
Ahhhh, Lord God! There is no life comparable to the life You have given me in Jesus Christ - - life abundantly free on this earth and life everlasting with You in Heaven! Nothing else comes close. Thank you for the incomparable, abundant gifts You give Your Beloved, those "originals" You have redeemed, those You are transforming into the image of Your Son, my Savior. In Jesus' matchless name, amen.
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