Jesus loves misfits; they’re the people he uses to change the world. Those who have it all together are too busy to be bothered with the messy, beautiful life of God’s Spirit. The imperfect, the weak, the ones who struggle with not fitting in or who can’t seem to ever get it right already know their own fallibility. God doesn’t want perfect people; he wants humble people.
We’re all misfits—some of us are just better at hiding it than others. It’s easy to look at friends and family who struggle with a learning disability or depression, or who are too loud, or who keep making mistake after mistake, and think, At least I’ve got it more together than they do. But those misfits in your life? They are your way of seeing Jesus a little bit more clearly; they show you a God who wants to free you from guilt, failure, frustration, and the strain of unreal expectations.
Today, as you struggle to understand and affirm the misfits in your life, or if you are an outlier yourself, embrace Jesus’ call to be like him—a misfit in this broken world, pointing to a kingdom where everyone has a place and is made beautiful.
Sally Clarkson is the author of numerous books. Her son Joel Clarkson is a composer and editor. Adapted from A Different Kind of Hero, the companion study guide to Different: The Story of an Outside-the-Box Kid Who and a Mom Who Loved Him (both Tyndale Momentum). © 2017. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
