Just Like Me!

A couple of new families visited church this week. That's always fun to see! As I was welcoming one of the families, I noticed one of the daughters - a sweet little seven-year-old with precious bright red curly locks of hair! She was so adorable! She looked at me and said, "You have red hair, just like me!!"

I grinned from ear to ear and nodded, saying I loved red hair. As the only red-head in her family, I think a comrade in hair-color was special to her. She might not have felt the same if she had known that I had colored my hair - that my natural color is brown. But, in that moment my colored red hair and her natural red curls gave us a bond that we might not have seen otherwise. Maybe the family will come back, and many I can get to be friends with this little sweetheart.

As I pondered that Sunday morning encounter , I realized how much it resembles Christian life. How exciting it is when we are in a new situation only to find a like-minded believer - somehow who understands where we're coming from; someone with whom we can truly identify!

None of us are in our "natural" state. In fact, the "natural" is something we want to put aside on a daily basis! Without the change that Christ makes in our lives, many of us would have nothing in common. We are different ages. We are of different cultural and social backgrounds. We have different likes, talents, and interests. We have different passions and loathings.

But, when Christ takes the natural and replaces it with the infusion of His Holy Spirit, we are drawn together with people we might never have spoken to otherwise.

The red in my hair will grow out and at some point I'll probably decide not to color it anymore.

The change we find in Christ, however, will never grow out. We are His. And, regardless of any other similarities or differences we find when we interact with others who are His, we will always find one powerful commonality - we belong to Him!