Enjoy the privilege of lending to the beauty and exhibition of Christ

On the living room wall in our home, we have a beautiful ringed neck pheasant mounted in a permanent flight presentation. A gift from my friend Todd, as a reminder of a hunt we took together to his home state of South Dakota. He personally mounted this bird that I had harvested, as it is a near perfect representation of the species. What a diverse display of color and pattern of feathers! The iridescent colors shine in the light, in multiples of browns, reds, blues and greens. The long tail feathers have their bold black bars that sharply stand out, as well as the stark whiteness of the classic “ring” on its neck. The longer you study this bird, the more colors become visible. In its diversity we find beauty, order and purpose. Not unlike what we are suppose to observe about the body of Christ, a.k.a. the church.

For those who take the time to observe the natural world that surrounds us, it is easy to see that God really enjoys diversity. Like the pheasant’s coloration, the more you look, the more you see. Maybe the same holds true for the church. I know there are some that bemoan all the “differences”, but perhaps, at times, we miss the bigger picture of what God has in mind.

With the pheasant, every single feather, color, and design, is strategically set in place. Everything in its makeup is designed to work together to make this creature not only recognizable, but to protect the entire pheasant. In their natural habitat, peasants become nearly invisible. So why should Christ, who takes such great care to detail something that flies today and is “under glass” tomorrow, not take even greater care and detail with us “of so little faith”?

Perhaps all the diversity of distinctions, liturgy, methodology, observances, etc. found in the various faith communities are not meant to stand out alone, but rather blend in together to make Christ instantly recognizable to the observer. It would be rather humorous to hear the tail feathers of a pheasant declare, “Those blue feathers on the back are way too blue for me, I am so out of here!” Pheasant feathers have no choice, but we do. We have to be careful not to give our “arrangement” on the “bird” to become more important than the “bird” (Christ) himself. My God given placement and coloration is to blend with yours to lend identity and protection to the rest.

Yes, God has sometimes received extra “help” from man and, some serious messes have been made, yet God and his intent are greater than any of these. Maybe a large part of the problem in the apparent lack of cohesiveness among the saints, lies in the fact that some of us dwell far too long on the “droppings” left behind. We are looking at the wrong end of the bird. To be consistent in harvesting pheasants, one must always focus on the head of the flushing bird. The same holds true for we who are called the body of Christ. The writer of Hebrews states in chapter 12, “Looking unto Jesus” a rendition of the Greek, “to focus on”, or, “to look on intensely.” When we look away from Christ our head, well, feathers get ruffled. Isn’t it good to know that God, who creates the “feathers,” is also able, by his grace, to smooth those feathers out once more?

One of the misconceptions that we have about the faith community, a.k.a. the church, is that we are not to have all of the differences and diverse groups, a.k.a. denominations. Hey, wait a minute, doesn’t the apostle Paul ask, “Is Christ divided?” The answer is, ”No, of course not.” Not divided in focus and purpose, but in body function. As individual believers and as individual Bible-based faith groups, we all have been given different assignment and arrangement within in the whole body, for the purpose that Christ and his glory may be seen. No feather is greater, better or holier. When a pheasant rises, the diverse feathers do not go in diverse ways. Wherever the pheasant’s head goes, so goes the feathers. Now, that’s a true picture of unity.

Aren’t you more important to God than many pheasants? Let us be encouraged to look for the beauty that the Lord has placed in the body of Christ, his church, and spend less time examining the droppings, allowing our feathers to be ruffled needlessly, and enjoy the privilege of lending to the beauty and exhibition of Christ as he has colored and arranged us.

S. Duane Guisinger is the pastor of the Sunny Knik Chapel.

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