I am sure you have noticed that this world is filled with weird people. They are everywhere. When I drive to work, I see them. When I go to restaurants, I see them. When I watch TV, they are there making the news. They all want to be my friend on Facebook and some of them are even related to me. Every time I think I have seen the weirdest person ever, there is always someone else to come along and blow the first person’s weirdness out of the water. The scary thing is, as I sit here in my green skinny jeans and ever changing hair style (currently a edgy mohawk), I see them in the mirror.
I am weird! Those close to me know how weird I can be (No laughing, Robin R). I am so weird, instead of marrying a nice quiet woman that helps me be normal, I married a bold woman that encourages me to embrace my weirdness. The difference between me and most people is that I have accepted my weirdness and I strive to express the uniqueness of my weirdosity (made-up word meaning the physical state of weirdness). Most people can’t accept that they are weird and that denial leads to increased levels of weirdness. They think their behavior and lifestyle is normal, when in actuality it is quite weird. I have learned the more you accept you’re weird the more palatable you are to those around you.
In my ConnectGroup for church we are currently watching The Truth Project video series by Focus on the Family, and last week’s lesson was on Sociology (the study of the development, structure, and functioning of human society). Sitting and watching how our amazing God has built into the creation of man a structure and framework of society, I was struck by a very weird thought; “With so many weird people in our lives, is there something that we can learn about the nature of God through our differences?”
In an effort to understand this new thought on weirdness, I looked up “weird” in the dictionary. Here is what is said, “involving or suggesting something supernatural; unearthly or uncanny.” Oh Wow! You mean my weirdness is directly related to God? That only makes sense because God made us in His image. Now let me put this in here before I say any more; there are obviously two types of weird, Bizarre Weird (the weird that isolates you or others and makes the individual the object of the attention) and there is Awesome Weird (the weird that attracts many types of people and directs them to God). I desire to be the Awesome Weird not Bizarre Weird. By being Awesome Weird I may do bizarre things, but the underlying focus is on Jesus Christ.
Without going into a deep theological conversation, Genesis 1:26-28 says,
Then God said, “Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness”… So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them…
Amazing, God gave us our weirdness. All of us! After He created male and female He then told them what He made them to accomplish. This brings two thoughts to mind. First, we, in ourselves, do not contain all the parts of our supernatural God and therefore need to be with other people’s weirdness to understand more fully the character and nature of God. In another verse in Genesis it says, “it is not good for man to be alone.” For that reason God created a helper that was suitable for him. How awesome is that? God knew that we needed others and to further reveal His nature, He created other people for us to have relationships with. But, we get so caught up in how Bizarre Weird others are that we forget they are made by a creator that infused them with His image and character, also. Instead of fighting through the Bizarre so that we can look for the Awesomeness of God, we focus on their weirdness and stay guarded. Every person has a piece of God’s awesomeness in them and the closer you get to God the less Bizarre you appear and the more Awesome you become. It is our differences that collectively point to God.
Secondly, we should be passionately Awesome Weird. Our mission, as Christians, is to go into all the world and make everyone Awesome. Baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which is Awesome. If we shrink back from our mission and fail to preach Christ and His Awesomeness, then others around us will be stuck in the Bizarre all the while Awesomeness awaits them. We can’t be bashful or awkward. That is Bizarre. Instead, when God brings family, friends and strangers across our path who are shackled by the Bizarre Weird let’s become bold, passionate and infused with Holy Spirit Awesomeness. Once emboldened and infused with the Holy Spirit Awesomeness, we can lovingly proclaim the Good News that they no longer need to be Bizarre, but instead can be free to be Awesome. It is only by His power that we and others turn from the Bizarre to the Awesome. He is Awesome, so we should strive to be Awesome, too!
