The Cost

Individuality in Christ

Ever heard of a hive mentality? It's the state of mind where everyone works as one, for the betterment of one particular thing, or the accomplishing of one particular goal. Like in a beehive, there's the queen bee, and all the other various drones. They all work under her for the continued prosperity of the queen and the hive. They are not regarded as individuals, but simply as one giant multi-functional work force. Drones are not independent, nor are they capable of finding personal identity. They are simply regarded as one other cog in the machine. 

Society around us generally has of feeling this way. People want to grow up to be "productive members of society." They don't focus quite so much on being their own person as they do on finding a way to fit in and be useful. And it can be hard to resist this mentality. In a lot of ways, this is similar to that hive mind we were talking about--one queen bee (governing officials or rulers) guiding the drones (the general population) toward the betterment of one particular thing, or the accomplishing of a particular goal (the improving of society, and the addition of more useful people into the system). And no, I'm not saying the government is brainwashing people or anything. What I am saying is that a lot of people lose their sense of individuality in an atmosphere that focuses less on recognizing personal skill and unique talents, and more on finding ways to confine those talents and skills to certain parameters. Pretty soon, you just end up feeling like "some guy" or "some girl" and lose excitement for your uniqueness and skills, and your sense of identity. 

So, where can we find our identities? What will give us a sense of worth and personal confidence in who we are? The answer is: Jesus. 

God does not want drones who try to fit in. He wants those who will stand against the grain, swim upstream, and fight the norms. He wants people who will break the restraints, challenge the accepted, and live a strong, faithful life to what they believe. God wants all of us to see our hidden potential. He wants everyone to come to him, and within His family, we are given an irreplaceable identity. We are called children of God. Now, I want you to think about something: if you are a sibling, consider this--are you and your siblings completely the same as each other? Is there literally nothing different between any of you? Or do your parents know each of your names, each of your ages (even if they may forget sometimes, or get it mixed up), and your differing goals and dreams? And one for parents: do you forget the names of your children? Do you just not care how old they are? Do you recognize that they have dreams and ambitions? Do you love them regardless of what they do, or how they act? The answers to both of those should be the latter options. Because that is what God does: He knows us all to be different people. He literally knows the number of individual hairs on our heads! He created us, and formed us all as unique people, not the same as anyone else. Sure, there are twins who look alike, but even twins have differing aspirations and dreams, and personalities, and quirks. God knows us all, and calls us all by name. We're not just "thing 1 and thing 2" to Him. We are all children of God. I think it's interesting how a lot of Christians, myself included, feel apprehension about going out to share God's Word with people, because we're worried we'll stand out and won't fit in with other people, when that's exactly why God chose us! He doesn't want us to fit in with the things and ways of the world. He chose us to stand out and make a difference. We already have our identity with God, the creator of the universe, and of everything we know to be real and sound. Why does it matter what other people, who are temporary and ultimately answerable to God, think of us on this earth? Any suffering we go through is temporary, and in the face of spending eternal life with God--it seems well worth the inconvenience of not fitting in. Everything will pass away, except God and His Word. Where society and other people just see "a person," He sees you as completely unique, gifted, worthy, and loved. And He loves you in a way no one will ever be able to come close to loving you. When we find our identity in Christ, we don't need recognition from anything or anyone else. God knows your name. He knows you better than even you do, and He has called you to Himself, to become a child of God. 

But maybe you think "If I stand up and go against what everyone else does, no one will want to come alongside me, or even befriend me, because I'm different." This can be a frightening thought, and following God will make you stand out. And yes, there will hard times, because people don't generally like change. It makes them uncomfortable, and means they have to alter what they do. It will not be as easy to make lasting friendships with general people when you walk the Christian walk. But Bonhoeffer says this in The Cost of Discipleship: "Though we all have to enter upon discipleship alone, we do not remain alone. If we take him at his word and dare to become individuals, our reward is the fellowship of the Church. Here is a visible brotherhood to compensate a hundredfold for all we have lost" (pg. 101). We may lose a worldly friend or two--I certainly have--but we gain the fellowship and support from the rest of the body of believers who have answered the same call we have, to stand up and be different. Oh, did I also mention we will receive eternal life in Heaven, and live with God forever and ever? On the surface, the subject of eternity is simple: it's just never-ending. But thinking about it more deeply, it's a very tough concept to grasp. As humans, we define and know things based on time. We know we don't live forever. We know we die. Animals die. Trees and plants die. Buildings decay and collapse, lakes dry up, the grass withers. Nothing earthly lasts forever. But we will, in Heaven with God. I don't know about you, but I believe that more than compensates for the temporary persecution and struggles we will face, for the sake of throwing up the gauntlet to others, and challenging them to defy society and human reservations, and answer the ultimate call--the call of God to come find identity in Him. 

"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him." 
1 John 3:1