The Square Peg in a round hole

why do I call myself a misfit Christian? A question with a pretty easy answer, really.

See, I've been a Christian since 1988. I went to a small independent Baptist congregation then. A wonderful congregation of people and one I dearly miss. Through them I received a solid foundation of Biblical instruction.

Over the years, though, I've found myself in congregations of various flavors, loving something about each of them, but never quite finding a home. Many I would find wee very strong on the word of God and on giving a Godly life, but weak on outreach and with a very little tolerance to the outcasts on society. There seemed to be a prevailing belief that because they brought much of their pain on as a consequence of their action, they were undeserving of the love and grace of God. I believe that much of our suffering is a natural consequence, but that we have to get through the surface and know and love the person. In other words, worry more about our own salvation and less about others.

Still other congregations were strong on the social gospel; they helped these folks, but Christ was never mentioned. I found myself caught in between, believing that faith should be mentioned, but it shouldn't be used as currency in how and to whom assistance is applied.

Some years ago, feeling bitter about never fitting in, I found a little gem by accident. I was contemplating moving to the middle of Alaska and living off the land, and i was studying nailless construction. In studying, I noticed something interesting. The book advised you to drill the holes in the timber and then cut the pegs square because a round peg will slip out; a square peg will not.

AHA! The origin of "square eg in a round hole", a saying we've used so often that it has no meaning. I began thinking about it and about myself, the ULTIMATE square peg in a round hole. And I realized something: That square peg may be a misfit, but it holds the building together.

Immediately, Psalm 118:22 came to mind ("the stone the building rejected has become the capstone"). For the first time in my life, I realized that being a misfit might be a productive thing and just the sort of person God wanted me to be.