One of my favourite toys for babies and toddlers is the shape sorter. Often (though not exclusively) in the shape of a cube, this object has shapes cut out of the sides and the child is encouraged to fit different solid shapes through these specific holes, learning to manoeuvre and manipulate shapes and thus acquiring dexterity and shape recognition. A square will not fit through the rectangle shape; the triangle will not fit through the star-shaped hole and so on.
The toy is a tool for understanding shapes – and life. For a square peg should not be forced into a round hole. All of us need to find our place in this world; we need to find our shape and fit.
The world prefers a one-size-fits-all approach to life. It’s easier to deal with, less troublesome, more convenient. Conformity is the thing.
Rom 12:1-2 reminds us that Christians are not designed to fit into the world’s shape-sorting box. The labels we love because they neatly identify us are not God’s identifying marks. The world identifies ‘good consumers, indulgent hedonists, ruthless competitors, satisfied customers’, but ‘Christians don’t fit. People of faith have sharp, awkward edges. We are square pegs in round holes.’ (Eugene Peterson, ‘On Living Well’)
The pressure to conform, to be whittled into a shape that fits the box, is forceful and persistent, like water ‘working to erode us into smooth, secularised surfaces.’ (ibid.) The only way to retain our distinctive Christ-shape is through spiritual practices: prayer, a study of the word of God, fellowship, witness, acts of service.
Stay distinctive. You don’t have to fit into the world’s box.