Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday, May 17, 2026
Do you see him? Zoom in closer, to see how well this bunny blends in with his background.
As soon as he heard us coming down the path, he froze. He reminded me of long ago days when I would sit very still in the classroom, not moving a muscle and avoiding eye contact with my teacher, in hopes I would not be called upon to give an answer.
Likewise, this bunny did not want to engage with us. We waited and waited, not moving any of our muscles, and he blinked first. He started foraging around for greenery, and we resumed our trek home.
Ever since, I’ve been musing on blending in. Is it a good thing, or a bad thing? I think the answer is Yes and Yes. It depends.
And, as always, I thought of people I’ve met in the pages of my Bible. Who blended in, and who did not?
It was much easier to think of those that determined not to blend in. Remember Daniel’s three friends? Did you think of them first? Rather than join with everyone else in kneeling before a golden statue, they literally stood up and stood out as people who worshipped God alone.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18 NIV)
As a child, I was mightily impressed with their courage. As an adult, I noticed their clear-eyed acknowledgement that their God was able to protect them, but “even if he does not,” they would not worship false gods. That “even if” faith challenges me!
As a child, I was amazed that the seven-times hotter fire did not harm them; it did not singe a hair on their head, nor did they even smell like fire. And, best of all, Someone joined them, walking with them in that fiery furnace. As an adult, I like to imagine their grandchildren urging them to “tell us about the time you were thrown in the fiery furnace”!
So many other stand-outs come to mind: Noah, Joseph, David, Joshua, Daniel, Esther, Deborah, Elijah, Moses, Peter, Paul, Barnabas, Stephen, all the prophets . . .
How about those that chose to blend in, and it was a good thing? I furrow my brow as I try to think of these people . . . Ruth! In devotion to her mother-in-law she left her home and all she knew, and pledged to fully identify with Naomi:
“Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” (Ruth 1:16,17)
She turned her back on her country’s heathen gods, and became one of five women mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus.
Jesus. He came to be Emmanuel, God with us. He never blended in, but He “took on humanity,” became one of us. He so fully identified with us that He carried our sins when He carried His cross.
So we’ve moved from talking about blending in, to identifying with. Have I veered off-topic? Have I followed a rabbit trail?
All of this musing and meandering because I saw a bunny!
As we hit the trail in this brand-new week, here’s God’s call to us:
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12: 2)