Graphic by Canva.
God values each human, no matter where they have come from, no matter their station in life, no matter their sex. However, God has no favorites. Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, spoke to the Christians in Galatia on this very topic as they worked to get along with each other. In that church, there was an attitude that somehow the Jewish people had an edge on spirituality over others. But Paul was trying to speak to all the areas where divisions can come: between Jews and Greeks (Gentiles), slaves or free people, men and women, and the list can go on and on. However, in Christ, those divisions don’t exist. Unlike most of us, God doesn’t have personal preferences.
We, on the other hand, have lots of preferences.
For many of us, they do in some parts of our minds and hearts. We often wish they didn’t, but they do. Educated vs. uneducated, rich or poor, divorced or “happily” married (which may be true or may be a farce…often no one knows). The list can go on as long as my arm. We rarely mention our personal prejudices aloud. It’s too embarrassing. But God knows our hearts. He knows better than we can admit to ourselves what our prejudices are. It makes no difference what our words are. They can be politically correct or not. It means nothing.
Jesus sees people in such radically different ways than we do,
Where is our heart? Do we honestly believe that we ARE the same before God, as our brother or sister in Christ who is homeless? Who smells bad? Who is a different color or speaks a different language? Do we think we are better than the older person who is struggling with the aging process and can’t hear well or remember things? How kind are we to the immigrant who can’t speak the language yet? Do we try to help them learn to function in US life?
Today celebrates Martin Luther King’s birthday. Many in the Bible believing church were unaware and detached from what he was doing at the time. We are becoming more socially aware, but we were so behind, we may never catch up. The important thing is that we remember these words from Galatians.
…for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free,
there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.Galatians 3:26-29 ESV
Listen to you excuses. Are they truly valid? Can they stand up to Biblical testing?
