More Lessons from Oz
Discovering Who We Are—Together
“My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him.” Colossians 2:6–7 (MSG)
One of my favorite moments in The Wizard of Oz comes near the end.
Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Lion finally stand before the Wizard—only to discover he’s just a man behind the curtain. And yet, that discovery doesn’t cancel the journey. It completes it.
Each of them receives what they came for—
but not in the way they expected.
Dorothy learns she could go home all along.
The Scarecrow realizes he was already wise.
The Tin Man discovers he already had a heart.
The Lion finds he had been courageous all along.
Nothing new was added.
What was already present was revealed.
Life Is Revealed in Shared Journey
What’s easy to miss is how these discoveries happened.
None of them recognized who they were in isolation.
They learned it on the road—together.
Scripture uses a word for this kind of shared life: koinōnia.
It’s often translated as " fellowship", but it means far more.
It speaks of participation, mutual sharing, and life held in common.
Not people meeting occasionally, but lives intertwined.
Courage surfaced because others needed it.
Wisdom emerged while solving problems together.
Compassion grew as they carried one another.
We don’t discover who we are in Christ alone.
We recognize it as we walk with others.
So Much Like Us
How much like Dorothy’s companions we are.
We pray for what we already possess.
We strive for what has already been given.
We ask God to do for us what He is longing to reveal in us—and through us.
Paul reminds us:
You received Christ.
Now live from Him.
Not through self-effort.
But through trust.
Not in isolation.
But in shared life.
Grace flows most freely where life is shared.
Who We Already Are in Christ—For One Another
Scripture tells us again and again that in Christ:
We belong to one another as one body (Romans 12:5).
We are gifted differently, so love can build us up together (Ephesians 4:16).
We are strengthened with power through His Spirit within us (Ephesians 3:16).
We are forgiven, so forgiveness can flow among us (Ephesians 4:32).
We are sealed by the Spirit as God’s people (Ephesians 1:13).
We are given gifts not for ourselves, but for the common good (1 Corinthians 12:7).
These are not private possessions, but shared riches.
They come alive in relationship.
Christ’s Life Expressed Through Us—Together
Yes, Christ lives His life through us.
But that life is revealed in relationship.
Formed in community.
Expressed as patience, courage, humility, and love with real people.
Just as the companions in Oz discovered who they were by walking together, we come to recognize Christ’s life in us as we journey with one another.
God is not pulling back a curtain to expose our lack.
He is revealing our inheritance.
And He often does it through the people beside us.
Reflection
Where might shared life be revealing something true about who you are in Christ right now?
Who has God placed alongside you to help call out what is already growing in you?
What might change if you trusted that Christ’s life in you is meant to be discovered together?
Prayer