Writings: Stepping On LEGOs

Stepping On LEGOs

By: Dr. Gregory S. Neal


When I was a boy I played with LEGOs. I had a huge box of them and I would spend many hours putting them together to make all sorts of wonderful creations; what I could make was limited only by my imagination ... and I had a big imagination!

One of really the neat things about LEGOs is that they come in all shapes and sizes and with many functions: there are big bricks, small bricks, fat bricks, thin bricks, turn-table bricks and wheel bricks, red bricks, blue bricks, black bricks, yellow bricks, green bricks, grey bricks, clear bricks, and white bricks. All of the many different kinds of LEGOs means that one's creative genius can put them together even more dynamically, building even more amazing things than if they were all the same. If all the LEGOs were the same shape, size, function, or color, that would be boring. In that sense, LEGOs are a lot like people: the more different kinds we've got, and the greater our diversity in every way possible, the better we all are!

On the other hand, one of the sad things about LEGOs is that even just a few of them left strewn around on the floor can be horribly painful if you step on them with bare feet. They pierce the skin, they crack and break, and are damaged and sometimes even destroyed when stepped on. In this way, LEGOs are also like people: they hurt when you step on them. THEY hurt — they are damaged, cracked, and destroyed — and those who do the stepping get what they deserve with each step.

We are, all of us, God's amazing LEGOs. God wants us to be part of a huge set of a multitude of colors, shapes, sizes, and functions. We can be put together amazingly well, function amazingly well together, and do an amazing number of things ... all together. But when any of us are stepped on, we're all hurt. When the red, blue, yellow, clear, and black bricks are stepped on and broken, the whole set suffers. When those bricks that function differently from the others get broken, the whole set is diminished. Just because I'm a white brick, that doesn't mean that the differently-shaped bricks or the yellow bricks or the red bricks or the black bricks don't matter when they're stepped on ... they do! They are all are part of our wonderful set, and when any are damaged or lost, the whole set suffers! Yes, we are all God's amazing LEGOs.

© 2020, Dr. Gregory S. Neal
All Rights Reserved

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The Reverend Dr. Gregory S. Neal is the Senior Pastor of Grace United Methodist Church in Des Moines, Iowa, and an ordained Elder of the North Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church. A graduate of Southern Methodist University, Duke University, and Trinity College, Dr. Neal is a scholar of Systematic Theology, New Testament origins, and Biblical Languages. His areas of specialization include the theology of the sacraments, in which he did his doctoral dissertation, and the formation and early transmission of the New Testament. Trained as a Christian educator, he has taught classes in these and related fields while also serving for more than 30 years as the pastor of United Methodist churches in North Texas.

As a popular teacher, preacher, and retreat leader, Dr. Neal is known for his ability to translate complex theological concepts into common, everyday terms. HIs preaching and teaching ministry is in demand around the world, and much of his work can be found on this website. He is the author of several books, including Grace Upon Grace: Sacramental Theology and the Christian Life, which is in its second edition, and Seeking the Shepherd's Arms: Reflections from the Pastoral Side of Life, a work of devotional literature. Both of these books are currently available from Amazon.com.