Where Do I Fit In?

By Rev. Scott E. Stiegemeyer

For some reason, we feel the need to categorize everyone. It’s not just in high school. It’s in the “grown-up world” as well. Sometimes the divisions are about race or income level. In politics, the question is: are you left-wing or right-wing? Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, or Green? Are you conservative or liberal? Maybe you are a “moderate” which means you are six of one, half dozen of the other. The scariest people are the ones we can’t put into a neat little box, the ones who defy all categories.

The labels are not that important. The point is that people want to know that they belong somewhere, that they have a group of people who know their name, that they don’t have to feel like strangers or aliens anywhere they go. Unfortunately, there’s also the sense that we make ourselves feel better by downgrading someone different than ourselves.

You are not a loner. You are not alone. You can KNOW that you belong. You can BE CERTAIN that in Christ there is neither Greek nor Jew, no male nor female, no slave nor free (Gal. 3:28). In Christ, there is no geek nor jock, no popular nor unpopular. He does not respect overachievers more highly than the “average Joes.”

All of us are equally in need of God’s mercy because all of us are born as objects of wrath. Likewise, Jesus died for all of us Jesus. Did St. John say in John 1:29, “There goes the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the (insert clique here).” No. In fact, the Lamb of God spilled His innocent blood to pay for the sins of all people, including yours and mine. You belong to Christ, which is to say you belong to the Church. We have oneness in Christ. We have wholeness in Him. Sometimes the differences matter. I’m not saying they don’t. Doctrinal unity, for instance, brings honor to God and ensures the advancement of the Gospel. But we need to remember that we who were once outsiders due to our sin are now insiders with God due to Jesus.

If you see the same kinds of squabbles and petty name calling happening in the church as you might find in the high school cafeteria, do not be discouraged. Jesus Christ establishes and builds His Church everywhere His Word is taught purely and the Sacraments are given according to His institution. The Church existed before you were born and there will be one forever.

And you, little ol’ awkward you, silly you, sinful you, YOU have been elected by God from before the creation of the world to be His chosen precious child. Where do you fit in? You fit in right between the arms and close to the heart of Jesus Christ.