When I arrived at the Church I now lead, there were 100 black chairs in the classrooms. They had all been purchased from Sam’s Club and were highly functional. A few years later, we needed 100 more. We found similar-looking chairs online for a lower price and assumed no one would notice the difference.

I noticed immediately.

Though the chairs looked nearly identical, they were slightly different in height and width. When stacked together, the mismatch pinched the material on the seats, often tearing holes in them. What seemed like a slight difference created real damage.

So I separated the chairs and stored them in different parts of the building. But whenever someone needed extra seating, they would grab from the rooms and use both types. Afterward, they instinctively stacked them all together. The result was more damage.

Recently, while reorganizing the stacks, I discovered a third chair. Just one. No one knew where it came from or how it got there. It looked similar enough to blend in, but it didn’t belong with either group. When stacked, it damaged the others, so I set it aside. It remains in the building, present, but out of place.

At first glance, all three chairs look the same. But their differences matter.

That realization made me think about the Christian life. To the untrained eye, everyone who claims the name of Jesus appears alike. But closer inspection reveals differences in belief, character, humility, and obedience. Those differences don’t just affect us individually; they affect the people around us as well.

Following Jesus isn’t just about looking the part. The Church isn’t meant to be a pile of mismatched chairs damaging one another whenever they are put together. It’s about being formed into the likeness of Jesus. When each person’s life is shaped by Christ, we fit together in a way that builds up rather than tears down.