God’s love makes us one—and makes us whole.

This is the final part of Living Faith, a four-part series about following Jesus with authenticity, compassion, and courage in everyday life.

When our daughter was seven, a psychologist told us that her way of processing the world fell within the autism spectrum. Meredith is bright and cheerful, with a quirky sense of humor and an eye for what others miss. Her contributions to conversations often come from an unexpected angle.

Like most of us, Meredith wants to be herself—and she wants to belong. But social cues didn’t come naturally. So, with determination, she learned how to pick up on neurotypical signals in order to build connections.

Her colleagues at work and fellow church choir members are mostly neurotypicals. But they’ve welcomed her as she is, and she belongs—not because she blends in, but because they’ve made space for her to be fully herself.

That’s the kind of community Jesus calls us to become: where each of us is true to ourselves and committed to the common good.

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