I found this little guy making his way across the hall of our church. His camouflage intrigued me. He didn't just turn green; he matched all the shades of our carpet.
Some caterpillars have light sensitive cells called chromatophores. When reflected light hits these cells, they undergo a chemical change that causes them to match the color of that light.
The caterpillar isn't smart enough to look at our carpet and select a palette of coordinated colors. Shoot, most men can't even do that.
No, this all happens automatically. The caterpillar is a kind of primitive camera. He makes no judgment calls. He just reflects the light from his perch and blends right in.
It's not a particularly exciting life, but it's safe. If you blend in, nobody will eat you.
Safe is nice. Safe is responsible. Safe is conservative and smart, like investing for the future. Safe is what you settle for when you give up your dreams.
I’m not interested in safe. Jesus wasn’t safe. That’s what I like about him. He walked big and tall across this very earth, splitting the crowds first and the calendar later.
I don’t know what happened to his people over the years, but the Church has become very safe and very boring.
That’s a shame.
Let me ask you something. Don't you love meeting people who shine? I'm talking about people who seem to be reflecting a different kind of light altogether. They don't fit into your categories. They throw you for a loop. They don't care, and yet they care more than anyone you've ever met.
I want to meet the people who press their hands into the earth and lay their palms on the heads of children. I want to know the deep listeners who have ears to hear. I want to find people you cannot peg, place, or posses.
Where are the people who transcend their clothing and their hair? Where are the people who wear their feelings on their sleeves but refuse to be hurt? Where are the people who ignore borders and honor boundaries? Where are the people who are scuffing the line between sacred and secular?
Show me these people and I won't care what they call themselves. I tell you I will not care.
Why don’t we throw away our religious labels and put our ears to the earth? Let’s see if we can feel the vibration of the Creator's heart. Let's see if touching Holiness will make our faces shine like a light on a hill. Let’s drop the church act and salt the earth instead.
Let's show our colors even if they eat us up.
