The Lesson of the Red Tile

it's always wrong to compare yourself with others.
God has created you in his own image in a way that
is unlike his image in any other person. You specifically
and uniquely reflect a facet of God's image; thus, your
indivduality matters to God. to compare yourself
with another person is to duplicate that very facet
and effectively minimize God's image thereby denying
his manifold expression of his glory.

If you are a red tile in the stained glass window of
God's image, you must not compared yourself with a green
tile, nor does it make any sense to do so. They are two
different entities, made with two different sets of
characteristics or two different purposes. The red tile
must only be the red tile and function where he has
been made to function, for only there does his
characteristic find meaning. The red tile cannot wonder
why he is not a green tile, for that is only for the
green tile to share with his designer. Of importance
is only whether the red tile is being the best red tile
he can be. Whether he is fitting perfectly in his
appointed place, shining with perfect brilliance and
clarity as the light passes through. Again, it is the
light and not the tile per se that is of ultimate
significance. It was for the light that the tile was
created and it is with the light, and nothing else, that
colour is achieved and it is in the light
that beauty is beheld.

the light does take away or diminish the character of
the tile. Conversely, it reveals how truly brilliant
the tile really is. Likewise, when Christ became
incarnate into flesh, he did not substract or diminish
the essence of man; rather he revealed what man could
be and was meant to be. Conforming to Christ's image
means having Christ incarnate into our beings, which,
in no way takes robs us of our essence or unique
character. his light shining through us will reveal
how brilliant we truly are.