Beautifully Bred

The following meditation was written by Rev. Dr. Michael B. Brown, Pastor of Blowing Rock Methodist Church in North Carolina.

“I have other sheep that don’t belong to this sheep pen . . .” John 10:16a (Common English Bible)

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:14 (New International Version Bible)

Earlier today my wife and I walked our dogs through Old Salem (a historic village in our city that still exists as it did in the late 1700s—a Moravian version of Williamsburg). Tourists were ambling around. The coffee shop, bakery, and cafes were bustling with people. Students from Salem College were packing their cars to return home for summer break. Other students from Salem Academy (high school) were making their way to and from class. There were village workers all about, dressed as if they had just stepped out of a time warp from two and a half centuries ago. And everywhere you looked were children from various elementary schools, gleefully following (or running ahead of) their teachers on Friday field trips.

As we passed one of the groups of elementary school children, a little girl (maybe seven or eight years old) asked if she could pet our dogs. We have two Cavaliers. The child was sweet and gentle with our pets. When she stood up all smiles from having showered them with affection, she said to me: “We have a dog exactly like yours. Except it’s a different breed.” Exactly like . . . except different. Maybe she was referring to a similarity of size. Or color. Or markings. Or simply the fact that her dog, like ours, enjoys having its ears scratched.

Exactly alike despite differences. “Breed” is a word that, aside from distinguishing types of dogs or cats, has been sorely and hurtfully misused across the years. “Mixed breed.” “Half-breed.” “Ill-bred.” In every case, it is a slur, a vocalized bias indicating that someone considers someone else to be “less than.” To a group of Pharisees who felt morally and ethnically superior to pretty much everyone else, Jesus said, “I have other sheep that don’t belong to this sheep pen . . . They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock, with one shepherd.” (John 10:16) In other words, to paraphrase that school child, all people are alike, equally valued, whatever breed/flock/group they may come from.

 If you ever feel unworthy or inadequate, especially when contrasted to someone else you think has or is more, remember what the Bible says about your life: “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” (Ps 139:14 NIV) You are God’s creation, God’s handiwork. You have been carefully fashioned (“wonderfully made”). There is no one else in all the world quite like you, meaning that you are literally one of a kind. In the arena of art, something like that would be called “a masterpiece.” So, you are God’s masterpiece.

 And if we are ever inclined to judge or dismiss someone else because he or she is different from us, we should not forget that masterpieces come in all shapes and shades and sizes. “Other sheep I have which are not of this fold.” (John 10:16 NKJV) Just as lovely. Just as important. And just as valued by the Shepherd.

Over half a century ago the recording artist, Ray Stevens, soared to the very top of the Hot 100 record charts with a song entitled Everything is Beautiful. An occasional phrase in it reminds listeners of how many years have passed since the song was written (e.g., not many folks worry any longer about the length of someone’s hair). But, its sentiment remains sound and biblical. Among the lyrics are these:

Everything is beautiful
In its own way
Like a starry summer night
Or a snow covered winter's day

And everybody's beautiful
In their own way
Under God's heaven
The world's gonna find a way

There is none so blind
As he who will not see
We must not close our minds
We must let our thoughts be free

We shouldn't care about the length of his hair
Of the color of his skin
Don't worry about what shows from without
But the love that lives within

Everybody's beautiful
In their own way

Stevens, Ray. Everything is Beautiful (Ahab Music Publishers, Barnaby Records, 1970)

We are all “wonderfully made.” Never think less than that about yourself . . . or about anyone else. God’s fingerprint is on our lives.

Joy,