Did you know ‘plank’ could be a verb? I discovered that in trying to discern what to write about. It would be so easy to just take the ‘usual’ passage from the Bible in Matthew 7:3-5 and let it stand. But this is 40 days of challenges, so why would I make it easy on myself?!?!

VERB: make, provide, or cover with planks.

Jesus was a carpenter, he used wood…I am sure the Bible passage and his witty sarcasm comes from that world he knew so well.

As followers of Jesus, we each hold our unique DNA and our unique way we engage this world. That means different gifts, talents, professions, personalities, etc. We don’t become assimilated into Christianity and suddenly all look the same. God created those differences, and we must honor them in each other…in what color we are, the language we speak, and the things we are passionate about. Each of these differences have their unique place in the Kingdom.

And since this is my utopia, there is no judgment on any of the characteristics we embody. Judgment is something we can immediately identify and stop it dead in its’ tracks as the divisive division it is to our community.

So imagine each of us holding a piece of wood. Each unique to who we are.

What does yours look like? Mine is rough and stained blue, because I love how the wood grain comes out in blue stain. But maybe I’ve also cut out some lines and added some lime green resin for character. Maybe it is just one dot, so that people will look at it and wonder if I did it on purpose. I do like to keep people guessing.

Each of our pieces will look different, and while I may not like that yours is unfinished brown or yours is a vibrant hot pink, it is on me to be mature and accepting enough to honor that yours is different and that together we are building something cool. What if it was an entire wall at church that each of us brought our own piece of wood that we’ve made unique to us?

Together there is beauty in the chaos of color. Together there is beauty in differences.

Let’s plank together, because anything we do together is going to be a thousand times better than anything I do on my own.