Uniquely Created

Happy Monday to our CFC Family;

A week ago this past Saturday afternoon, our kitchen turned into a whirlwind of flour, laughter, and holiday cheer! For a few light hearted hours, all three of our adult kids were home together, busy whipping up Christmas treats. The kitchen was filled with laughter, flour-dusted counters, and the unmistakable smell of Christmas cookies in the air. Some rolled dough, some decorated, and some people—like me—were sampling the goodies before they ever made it into the oven. 😉

Our youngest daughter, Aliyah, quickly decided that her heart belonged entirely to the kind cookies she planned to make. She brought her own recipe and ingredients, and all her focus was on making sure everything turned out just right. She was all in.

That left the gingerbread houses. With Lenise content to sit back and watch, Jordan, Taylor, and I decided to take on the challenge. We opened the boxes, laid out the pieces, and got to work.

What struck me most wasn’t how well the houses turned out (that’s debatable depending on who you ask), but how different they were. Every house came from the same kit—the same pre-cut gingerbread pieces, the same icing, the same candy options. Yet when we finished, no two houses looked alike.

Some leaned into the traditional gingerbread house design—neat lines, classic roofs, familiar patterns. Others went in a different direction altogether, creating what might best be described as a more “rustic” look. Same pieces. Same starting point. Completely different results.  And when they were all finished, as I looked at those houses, I couldn’t help but think about Christmas—and about us.

When Jesus came into the world, He didn’t come with a one-size-fits-all plan to make everyone the same. He came to redeem, restore, and set free people who were already uniquely and intentionally made. Scripture tells us in Ephesians 2:10:

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Sin had placed a curse over humanity—a burden none of us could remove on our own. Fear, shame, insecurity, doubt, and limitation became part of the human story. But Christmas is the declaration that God had a plan to break that curse. Jesus entered our world to do what we could not do for ourselves.

Paul reminds us in Galatians 4:4–5:

“But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.”

Jesus came not only to forgive sin, but to free us from what sin produced. As Paul says in the same letter chapter 3:13

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.”

Because of Him, we no longer have to live under what has been spoken over us—by the enemy, by others, or even by ourselves. We don’t have to live in fear—because He broke that curse. We don’t have to live in doubt—because He broke that curse. We don’t have to live in insecurity—because He broke that curse.

Jesus Himself said in John 8:36:

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

And when the curse is broken, so are the limitations—the limitations sin imposed, the limitations others placed on us, and the limitations we learned to accept as truth.

Jesus didn’t save us so we could become a lesser version of ourselves. He saved us so we could become the fullest version of who He created us to be.

Paul reminds young Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:7:

“For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self-discipline.”

And in Ephesians 3:20, he also writes:

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

That’s why those gingerbread houses still speak to me. Same pieces. Same foundation. But freedom in how they were built. Each one reflected the hands, creativity, and personality of the one building it. In the same way, we are all formed by the same Creator, redeemed by the same Savior, and set free by the same sacrifice—yet each of us carries unique gifts, callings, and purposes woven into us by God Himself.

King David understood this when he wrote in Psalm 139:14:

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

This Christmas, may we remember that Jesus came not only to save us from something, but to release us into something—freedom, purpose, and the fullness of who He intended us to be. And may we never forget, we were never meant to all look the same, only to be built upon the same foundation of His grace.

Have a wonderful week and we’ll see you Sunday!

Question:  This weeks question is a judging contest.  Which gingerbread house do you like the best?  Our family is very competitive!!  LOL

“A” for the one of the left

“B” for the one in the middle

“C” for the one on the right

Pastor Dan