Skip to content We are all unique in our own special way. We have been taught this our entire lives. We desire for importance and to be different from others to stand out. To bring glory to ourselves. But true freedom comes from being unique in Christ. But what exactly does it mean to be unique in Christ?
Being Different
My wife loves country music. Which happens to be the one genre I cringe whenever I hear that familiar twang. Although I am drawn to believe my tastes are superior, it turns out musical preference is largely based on culture and your upbringing just as our food preferences are largely based on our cultural background.
When our environmental influences largely impact who you are as a person what then truly makes you unique? You might think your eclectic tastes in music or your penchant for trying exotic foods or your off color jokes make you you. In fact it’s actually just an amalgam of what you’ve absorbed in life up until now. You are indeed just a collection of your experiences and your genes.
Although this is a hard pill to swallow, deep down you know it’s true. Knowing that you are just a vessel of your culture, devoid of any real original thought, is unsettling. Just a voice box of your experiences.
In fact that inner voice you hear in your head that you call your conscious may in fact just be the voice your parents spoke to you before you had your own inner voice. That’s right, there was a time when you did not have an inner voice. Which is why toddlers say the craziest thing. They just say what’s on their mind. But at some point, they begin to have an internal monologue, and the tone and content are largely based on how and what has been spoken to them.
But before we throw our hands up and succumb to a sense of despair, perhaps we need to redefine what uniqueness means.
Being Unique in Christ
Remember we are made in the image of God. This profound truth reminds us that our true uniqueness stems from our divine origin. Our individuality does not merely stem from the external influences that have shaped us but rather is rooted in the very essence of our being, reflecting the imprint of our Creator.
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27
When we recognize we are made by a God who loves and cares for us deeply as an individual, suddenly our uniqueness is based on God’s artistry of his creation, us. We are the canvas that expresses His beauty. We are clay that is shaped by his love. And so what if his paintbrush is the collection of our individual experiences when they are made by God himself
But this form of uniqueness is only fully expressed when we participate in the our role in this cosmic portrait. When we acknowledge that we are the art not the artist. It’s when we give up our need for independence to the wonderful dependence of a master creator. That is our uniqueness, His masterpiece in the making. We are unique in Christ.
Check out this article : Giving up Control to God
