Passage for reflection: Hebrews 12:1-8
In the 1980s and 1990s the United States Army recruiting campaign was “Be All You Can Be.” Through television commercials, print advertisements, and a wide-ranging messaging tools the Army delivered ads designed to connect with a broad audience and to encourage them to consider the Army as the place where they could maximize their potential.
Over the course of my lifetime, I’ve come to know another entity with an even more compelling message: “Be Yourself.”
The call of Hebrews 12:1-8 is timeless. It proposes that being a part of the body we call the church requires each of us and that our role is to know and use our gifts.
The contemporary paraphrase, The Message, puts it as plainly as possible “let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves to each other, or trying to be something we aren’t” (v.6).
Whether you are young, middle aged, or in your mature years – whether you are new to the faith or have been following the Way of Jesus for a lifetime – the Body of Christ needs you.
The body needs you to know yourself. What are your gifts? What is it that you have to offer others?
The body needs you to be yourself. Don’t worry about what gifts others possess. Don’t envy giftedness that looks different from your own. With humility, share your authentic self with others trusting that as others do likewise the body will flourish.
This post was originally published in the Lectionary for Life Series for the Center for Congregational Ethics on January 21, 2022.