Beautiful Colors

Some members of my congregation got together one Saturday morning to do some “visioning” for the church, asking questions like these: What does the future hold for our church? How can we be more effective in our outreach? How can we help each other grow? Heavy stuff indeed.

As I walked into church that morning, George, our resident artist, was busy painting a scene of children at play on one of the doors in our Kid Zone. He had a whole tray full of small bottles, each with a different color of paint. Each shape, each area, each color he applied was different. Some colors got a big splash; others covered just a tiny area. Most made no sense on their own, but the picture began taking shape as more colors and shapes emerged from the painter’s brush. The result was a beautiful, colorful illustration—a scene worth showing. It told a story.

People in a community or church are a lot like those colors. Not all of us are made for greatness; as individuals, we may not even be noticed. But when we come together as a community, as a body of believers in all our shapes and colors, we become a beautiful picture in God’s sight and to the world. We become one family, united in one purpose. Our church mission statement is “Sharing Christ until everyone fully reflects him.” It reflects our understanding that together, as one body, we can do much more than we could accomplish on our own.

Jesus prays this prayer for his disciples and for all believers: “As you sent  me into the world, I have sent them into the world. My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one” (John 17:18-22).

Together we may be noticed; together we may reach out. Together we can be the temple God wants us to be so that we can be as one as Jesus is one with the Father.