In an impromptu meeting at work the other day, I was told by one of my supervisors that I am "quirky". Her comment took me aback momentarily, while this is not exactly news to me, in my brief 41 years on this moist, rotating sphere, I do not recall anyone actually ever saying that directly to me. Again, it is not a huge national secret that I may have a few peculiarities, I just found it strange that someone would blurt it out without even a moment's thought about how that would make me feel. What if I didn't know I was quirky and thought I was "normal" like everyone else? (Side note: there is no such thing as normal. If you think you're normal, get over yourself, you're not.) Saying this out loud to someone might be considered an insult or hurt their feelings. My feelings went unblemished because I revel in my peculiarities; God made me this way and I am good with that.
Being called quirky got me thinking about the bigger picture. We all have our quirks, oddball moments, hang-ups, phobias, and peculiarities. Everyone on earth has a quirk that really defines who they are. That is what is so amazing about our creator. We are all uniquely designed. From the color of our skin to our favorite color, each person is different. I have even met identical twins that you could not tell apart by looking, but their personalities and interests are completely different. We are all quirky. And yet, the Bible tells us we are all created in God's image. Genesis 1:27 says, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (NIV)
If we are created in God's image, and we are all quirky, then I must be the creation of a quirky God. Please, do not send me letters or nasty e-mails saying I should not call God "quirky". I am just following the logic.
I can think of no better way to illustrate my point than with the Christmas story. God comes to earth as a baby born to a virgin. Mary and her fiancee can find no room to rest and deliver the Son of God, so he is born in a barn, wrapped in rags, and laid in a feeding trough. Then, the angels dash from heaven to announce this miraculous arrival to, not kings or nobles, but shepherds. The shepherds decide the best thing for them to do after hearing the choir of heaven is to abandon their sheep and livelihood and go worship a newborn.
A year or two later, just as Joe and Mary are getting settled in with their new home and family in Bethlehem, some Magi from somewhere in the East show up because of a star in the sky. The Magi don't bring toys or food, but gold, frankincense (embalming fluid), and myrrh (a Christian record label.) But because the wise guys had stopped to see "Herod the crazy" first, Joe and Mary have to take toddler Jesus on a field trip to Egypt. (Seriously, would you want to take a 2 year old on a road trip by camel?) After Herod dies, and they have filled their Facebook album with pictures of Jesus by the Sphinx, an angel tells them to return to Israel. They finally settle down and raise a family not in a booming metropolis or even the suburbs, but Galilee; the hillbilly section of Israel.
So I ask you, is our God not a wee bit quirky? Honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way.
Hope your Christmas is filled with the love of Christ and your new year is filled with his blessings.
Bill
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