Assumptions

After I John 2:28-3:10

We assume an identity,

we put it on not unlike clothes,

but it is skin. It doesn’t fit

very well, it makes us

uncomfortable and we stand out

in a crowd like we’re dressed

badly or overweight or we haven’t

had a bath and people see us

and pass by quickly, averting

their gaze because we are

different and the want to be

the same and not different. If

you are different you will be

disliked, you will be objectified,

you will be hated. If you continue

and deepen your difference they

will not only turn away or avert

their gaze but occasionally

lash out and strike with the purpose

of inflicting pain and proclaiming

they are not you. Assuming this

going in doesn’t make it easier

but it does make it

understandable

and tells you

for whom to pray.

Photograph by Janko Ferlic via Unsplash. Used with permission.