Commonplaceness and Especialness

Commonplaceness and Especialness

 

Between Commonplaceness and Especialness

Usually we think ourselves as the average person. So the president, No Tae Woo won in the election with catch phrase, 'Average Person'. The thinking that the president is also the one of common people move many people. However, the standard of common person is various. We usually consider the ordinary person think like these, 'I am the one of many people, I have the common sense, I know the moral and ethic, I am not rich, also not poor'. The person who think like these is represented for commonplaceness.

However, the mentality of man is odd, Because man asserts himself/herself to be a person of mediocrity but he/she wants to be different. That is, he/she wants to be regarded as someone special. Perhaps no one dislike to be received as VIP treatment. So we are very eager to equip with speck(specification-mean something as like these, requirement, qualification, scholarship among the job seeker) and to succeed in the world for Especialness. And we desire to have brand or to try to be become a unique brand. Also we select a certain brand and stick to that one which shows our own uniqueness.

We are filled with the bewilderment of identity between commonplaceness and especialness. Then, What identity do we, as Christians, have? This is hard-to-answer question. However, it is easy for Sunday School children to answer this question. The answer is "We are special". Sunday School Children are aware why Christians are so special. I want to introduce a Sunday School praise. "I am special, because Jesus loves me. I am special, because Jesus rescued me. You are special, because Jesus loves you. We are special, because Jesus blessed us".

But actually we who taught in Sunday School come to forget that we are blessed and selected. More and more we are aged, we pursue the spirituality of commonplaceness. That is, we go to self-contentment.

I saw the interview description about a famous nun. That says, "It is dangerous that we dream something dramatic in spiritual life, we have to be ordinary but if we pursue something to dramatic, we come to fall to hell in some moment.

Then I thought there is the spirituality of commonplaceness in Catholic but this spirituality cannot represent the whole Christianity.

The most of all characters in the Bible live a dramatic life. Abraham, Joseph, Jacob, Mose, David. There is no one who didn't dream and live a dramatic life in the Bible.

Christianity make us challenge to special life with God. This is the spirituality of Christianity. We as Christians have to find the self-identity in Especialness with God.

 

Expecting the Especialness

The following saying is my funny story. So far I am not married, but I have explanation for not marriage. Even an old maid has a word.

I, who am not a born christian, have expectation that my life partner has something special since believing in Jesus Christ. I didn't want rich guy, prominent male but just have unexplainable expectation about something especial after I received Jesus as my lord. I have many chances to meet guys because of son of Daddy's friends, friends of my brothers, friends of my cousins, friends of my friends. However I was not satisfied with the meeting. There are reasons why I was not satisfied. That guy is no because he didn't believe in Jesus. That guy is no because he was drinking and smoking. That guy is no because he is too much churchan guy.... There are so many reasons but the crucial reason is that I was not attractive to them specially. Of course I was ever rejected from them.

 

One day my cousin who went to Seoul national university introduced a guy, her junior to me. But I said to her I didn't like him. He was a Seoul national university student so he might be pride and he thought that he was special. However he was common person in my eyes. I rejected him. Then my cousin who introduced him to me call me, "Young Mi, commonplaceness is the best. Man who is something like flat is good",

I remember that word even now. Common and flat guy, Couldn't I see the especialness in the commonplaceness and flatness. Anyway, I will not give up the hope that the specially attractive man comes up to me. Someone think to oneself "She doesn't know better, maybe she can't marry". Don't be serious.

 

Specialness is being myself

Then what is the specialness? We think that as heroic, great, external thing. So we become exceptional from my career, academic clique, my specification. However the report said that these days there is no discrimination in an oral test, the someone who has the own story, that is the special characteristic, can pass the test.

I read the book, <8 code that can change mediocrity into greatness>. The book said that the feature of this era is branding man. As the well branding goods will be selected among numerous goods. to appeal ourselves among a lot of people, we have to make ourselves brand. To make ourselves brand, the author commented, we have to know what we are, that is our characteristic, and to develop and extend it. So to develop and extend our characteristic, we have to read the book and study the specialized field, still more to try to have knowledge from experience. And author said, to do our best and to have patience because this brand doesn't make as slick as nothing at all.

 

The nature of Christian

From this book we come to know that the especialness is not in the external but the characteristic of self, that is being self. Then let us think the essence of believer. We are selected son of God, blessed children of God.

Refer to Galatians 1:15, "But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased", Ephesians 2:8, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-"

The Bible said we became the children of God by grace everywhere. We, Christian, have our own specification incomparable with the world as we are selected people from God. This is our nature, so we are special. Then we think that all thing given to us, even our daily are the grace and gift of God. This thinking will develop and expand the our nature as Christian. The routine and ordinary will become great and special. The faith is a kind of interpretation and to give meaning. When we give meaning to our ordinary in the respect of the grace of God, we become great and special being.

 

From Commonplaceness to Especialness

All things in the world have the meaning. We try to find special meaning as living everyday life. We search for my own thing in the ordinary and share it through blog, facebook, SNS. We desire it to be emphasized with other people and feel self-esteem.

As a matter of fact, our ordinary is filled with meanings. Let us pour the grace of God in the meanings. Then we become the exceptional children of God.

One day, as drinking a cup of coffee with my peer, I think like this: The meaning that I drink a cup of coffee with my peer everyday is the thing that I have the job in this bad times and I don't be left out in the cold because of my being with peer and I have the extra in material and time to drink a cup of coffee. This is an amazing grace. The meaning of a cup of coffee brings me happiness and improve my self-esteem.

We, as Christians, have the especialness beyond the commonplaceness. For we have the identity of the son of God. To become a son of God is the grace of God and the gift of God. So we are special because of the amazing grace.

Then if we can't find out the meaning of our ordinary and deny it, That means we deny our identity of the children of God. When we find the meaning in the ordinary and think it as the grace, we can develop and expand our nature as Christians. In there our especialness lies.