Just like this image to the left, we also have many layers and textures that make up who we are.  Some of what stands out before others is blue, some cloudy and there are some, but not often seen, dark. Society too, puts us in situations that can and do push us into intersections with the expectations of others.  These expectations shape and segment us in ways that both we and those around us no longer see the whole.  We can become so divided by our roles and responsibilities that we are no longer able to remember who and whose we are.

Jurgen Moltmann writes, “Men are compelled to declare faith in and to do things which they do not want to do. Modern society is called a pluralistic society because in it a multitude of views and interests, groups and associations are competing with one another.  In it man experiences himself too as a pluralistic being, who must live at the point of intersection of often very different claims, standards and expectations, which can no longer be brought under the common denominator of a single personality which is at peace with itself, and of a consistent picture of life.  The compulsion to constant new adaptation can lead to the dissolution of the continuity of life as lived”.

      We can be pushed, pulled, and twisted, as we try to meet these claims and demands that contribute to the constant adaptation that we find ourselves in.  But we don’t have to lose sight of who we are or of whose we are.  In fact, the Spirit of God and the Word, regularly remind us of both who we are and whose we are if we would listen and yield ourselves.  I believe that God desires for us to live lives of wholeness and abundance. We are called to become more like Christ and His is the only expectaion that truly needs to be met.  Listening  and yielding do not come easily to us. It takes time in solitude, the Word and in prayer. It is also most helpful if we have someone to walk with us as we yield ourselves to the Spirit of God.  This could be perhaps a Spiritual director, a trusted soul friend, or a  loved one who will listen without judging, who will pray for you and who will hold you accountable if needed.

     We will continue to have this fragmentation as the world continues to push its way into our lives with it’s expectations,  and we certainly do have God given roles and responsibilities.  But we are to be more than these individual pieces and parts, we are to be the sum of them all, by and in Jesus.

Quote: Jurgen Moltmann, On Human Being, pg. 89