Stacey Mansfield

by Stacey Mansfield

Do you ever feel like there is a common theme running through your life for a season? Let me explain my question a little better: Do you ever notice that over a course of days or weeks a specific phrase or concept shows up in a variety of seemingly unrelated places?  

My most recent experience of this started in a conversation with a friend who shared how many people within a specific group had conveyed to her independently that they felt like outsiders. Later that night, as I read the next few pages of a book I have been slowly reading, it described someone feeling like an oddity within their community despite a shared culture. When similar stories were highlighted in a podcast I was listening to the next day, I recognized that I needed to take some time with God to listen and understand more. 

The passage that I was drawn to was Romans 12. 

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2a, NIV 

The feeling of being an outsider, like an outlier in a plot graph of data points, is uncomfortable. Whether we feel separated from others because of the way we speak, how we look, our affinities, the choices we have made, or even the losses we have experienced, it hurts.  

Most of us can still feel the painful sting of being an outsider at some point in our lives. Others of us face this situation regularly. Are we ready to seek out Christ’s healing and take the difficult path of restoration? How are we allowing Christ to transform and renew our minds?  

We frequently shape our lives towards comfort; I wonder what uncomfortable spaces we need to humbly walk into? Are we able to notice and connect with those who feel like they are on the outside looking in? This seems particularly poignant with Mosaic’s missional, intercultural, and formation priorities shaping not just ministry but everyday life. 

“For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith;if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach;if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.” Romans 12:4-8, NIV 

These verses remind me that we are different, and gifted differently, by God’s design. In each facet of our lives, we do not need to be surprised that there are significant differences among us.  

“Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” Romans 12:13, NIV 

May we engage one another as Christ calls us to. May we not just notice those who feel as though they are outsiders, but thoughtfully set out to edify, collaborate with, and enjoy those around us. 

I encourage you to continue reading Romans 12 and notice the many other verses that relate to feeling like an outsider. For a light-hearted approach that can lead to deeper  conversations on this topic, check out Pixar’s short film, For the Birds, with a friend, your family, or small group.