I don't believe I've ever met anybody
who didn't want to belong to something that
made them feel worthwhile, that made
them feel that they had value.
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When people wonder, "Is there a place for me?"
it may be any number of things behind that.
And now they ask themselves, "Do I fit?
Do I belong here?
Do they really need me?"
And I want to say emphatically, "Yes."
I think of the metaphor of Paul, which
I love very much, about the Church is the body of Christ.
And he says we're baptized into that body,
and he says it's one body.
Many members, but one body.
I understand people's feelings at times
that they may not be needed.
And sometimes others are guilty of saying,
"We don't need this person.
We don't need that person.
We're fine as we are."
Neither one is true.
That's not the Christian way.
That's not the way Christ sees us.
He sees all of us with infinite worth,
and whatever our condition at the moment may be,
the body of Christ is there to sustain each member.
When a person feels isolated, I don't
deny the reality of the feeling and why it's
so natural to feel that way.
But each of us, whenever that sense may come upon us,
need to stop and think, "Jesus Christ died for me.
Jesus Christ thought me worthy of His blood.
And He loves me, He has hopes for me,
and He can make a difference in my life.
His grace can transform me.
And maybe this person sitting next to me,
ignoring me or even wanting to move away,
maybe he or she doesn't.
But that doesn't change the reality of what
Christ feels toward me and the possibilities
I have in Christ."
And it breaks my heart if someone
comes and is very vulnerable and says, "I want to try it,
I want to be here," and then get a cold shoulder
or a lack of interest.
And that's tragic.
It really is tragic.
We have to be better than that.
The diversity we find now in the Church
may be just the beginning.
Frankly, I think we'll see greater and greater diversity.
In the ancient Church there was tremendous diversity.
And it's not just diversity for diversity's sake, but the fact
that people can bring different gifts and perspectives.
And the wide range of experience and backgrounds and challenges
that people face will show us what
really is essential in the gospel of Christ.
And much of the rest that's been perhaps acquired over time
and is more cultural than doctrinal can slip away,
and we can really learn to be disciples.
So we've, on the one hand, got to be better as a people
at receiving and helping and walking together
with everybody.
And on the other hand, every individual
needs to be determined that they're
going to have a place in the kingdom of God,
they're going to have a place in the body of Christ.
And others who are thoughtless or careless or worse
can't prohibit that, can't drive them away,
can't take it away from them.