Of Labels and Names

Lately I've found myself think a lot about labels and names. For a while now I have had a love / hate relationship with labels. I hate it when people use them to box in or attempt to catagorize myself and those I care about. On the other hand, I love it when I can use a label as a lense through which to better understand a person. For example, when I hear people refer to me as a "Christian guy", I know that phrasing means different things to different people. To some it means, "insensitive, in-your-face, bible-thumper" while to others it means "sensative caring person who what's what's best for you". The latter, even though it is more more posative, is no more closer to the truth than the former. Even if I was to give you my own definition, that would still not totally traverse what it means for me to be both a follower of Christ and a male member of the human species.
It's like that passage in the Gospels where Jesus asks His disciples who the crowds say He is and then who they say He is. At the same time, I also find myself reminded of a conversation I once had with an uncle of mine. We hadn't seen each other in a while and I could sense He was trying to get a sense of who I was, of what kind of person I was, and so on. Maybe I was under the wrong impression, but I still found myself turning to him and saying, "Don't try to understand me, just get to know me." Do you get the difference yet?
One way to find out about another person is to simply notice certain charecteristics they share with other members of the human race and assume that because they do, they are just like those other people. In my mind, viewing relationships and conversations that way stunts true growth and developement of one's self and others around you. A second way to approach another person is to see each charecteristic as adding to the uniqueness of that person's whole identity.
The truth of the matter, at least as I have come to see it, is that God created each of us in His image as unique representations of Who He is. There is no one else in the world quite like you. There is no one else in the world quite like me. How could there be? We have all lived different lives and had a variety of opposite expereinces. Maybe we'd be better off getting to know each other by name than by label. Just a thought. Hope you are all well. God bless each of you!