I recently saw this image circling on social media, describing two types of “welcoming” churches.
The Bible tells us that each of us is made uniquely. We have different characteristics, different gifts, and different backgrounds and experiences. This is part of what makes the church of Jesus so beautiful. Paul celebrates this uniqueness in 1 Corinthians 12:
For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body—so also is Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and we were all given one Spirit to drink. Indeed, the body is not one part but many. If the foot should say, “Because I’m not a hand, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not for that reason any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I’m not an eye, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not for that reason any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God has arranged each one of the parts in the body just as he wanted. And if they were all the same part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” Or again, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that are weaker are indispensable.
– 1 Corinthians 12:12-22
So yes—our uniqueness is a gift from God. But the Bible never says that we were created to live out a “unique image” of ourselves. Scripture makes clear that we were created in the image of God. But after sin entered the world, that image was marred. The Bible even describes our hearts as “deceitful” (Jeremiah 17:9).
When we are in Christ, something new happens. We are given a renewed heart and mind. And the goal is not self-expression of a unique image, but conformity to the image of Christ.
For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
– Romans 8:29
This is crucial. No church should desire for you to conform to their version of what a Christian should look like. But neither should we chase after some “unique image of God” that reflects only ourselves. The call of every believer is to pursue likeness to Christ.
Any church or teacher who says otherwise, including Zach Lambert, the author of the original statement being discussed here, should be approached with great caution.
