The Gift of the Outsider: 6 Days of Faith From the MarginsНамуна

Who is an Outsider?

Nick speaks with a stutter. Angela uses a wheelchair. Steven was homeschooled as a child but now, as an adult, lives in a big city. Marlene is in her forties and has never married. Bouangern is a new international student in the US. Dan has recently gotten swept up in replacement theory. Alex is an undocumented immigrant. Jasmine, a black woman, attends a predominantly white church. Mariella is a first‐generation college student. John is a recovering addict. Wayne is the only man who works in his department. The Moores struggle with infertility. Sarah Kate is politically conservative but moved to Seattle for work. Terry has lived for 30 years in his quickly gentrifying neighborhood, where nearly all his neighbors are recent transplants. Liz and Michael are the only white people on their block in an “up‐and‐coming” neighborhood. Stephanie suffers from chronic illness. Maxwell is neurodivergent.

What do these people have in common?

At one time or another, and to varying degrees, the people just described have all felt like outsiders or feared becoming one. For some, trying to recall a time when they didn’t feel like an outsider proves more difficult than pinpointing a specific situation in which they did.

An outsider is a person or group of people who differ from those around them in one or more ways that are meaningful to them or the prevailing immediate culture. Their differences may be based on life stage, socioeconomic status, education, circumstances, culture (ethnic, regional, national), ability, interests, or identity. Their experience of being on the outside may be episodic or permanent.

If mapped as concentric rings, insiders, those sharing the most meaningful traits, would make up the innermost ring. Outsiders would fall at various distances from the center based on a variety of quantitative and qualitative factors.

Most people vie for the inside. When being on the inside means being known, seen, and accommodated, who wouldn’t want that? If we had our way, we’d avoid the outside at all costs.

But reaching the inside—that coveted inner ring—isn’t Christ’s endgame.

What most benefits us, individually and as the church, is what moves us closer to our goal of becoming worshipers with a singular boast who make nothing of ourselves and everything of God—becoming faithful disciples and proof of his power.

The Value of Difference

A value of difference unique to the church is that it presents a canvas upon which God can paint one of its most distinctive features: unity.

We can discover unity in diversity—even where histories of mistreatment and mistrust run deep, and the potential for marginalization and neglect run high.

Difference also expresses the vastness of God’s beauty and wisdom. The innumerable ways of being, speaking, and thinking serve as a witness to the unfathomable imagination of our Creator.

Conclusion

The Bible speaks to the unique contributions of outsiders to God’s kingdom, His special care for outcasts, the special honor given to parts of the body that lack it, and the supremacy of faith.

When Jesus took on flesh, He embarked on the life of an outsider. Whether we’ve always been outsiders, are looking to become one, or want to better love those in our midst, He knows our path. As people of the cross—being built together with Christ as our cornerstone—division does not become us.

Reflection

Which, if any, of the individuals at the opening of this devotional can you relate with?

Who are the “outsiders” in your life?

Read Colossians 3:11. If Paul were writing to the church today, what divisions do you think he would highlight? If he were writing to your specific church, what might he point out?