WE ARE ONE In Christ Jesus!

SCRIPTURE



Galatians 3:23-29 (NRSV)

Children of God in Christ

Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise.


DEVOTION

Today’s scripture reading deserves a “Hallelujah!” shout of praise!

I am particularly enamored with the words, “…in Christ you are all children of God through faith…There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”

WOW!

How I wish that Christians were immune to sin. If we were, there would be no racism, sexism, or classism within our local churches.

Our non-Christian friends would look into our churches on Sunday and our ministries throughout the week and see perfect love working in and amongst us! They would see intentionally multi-ethnic fellowships of Christian believers worshiping together on Sunday morning. They would see empowered men and women serving side by side as they served God’s children to the best of their ability and they would see rich and poor living together meeting each others' needs to the glory of God!

What an awesome testimony that would be to all of the people of the world! But, alas, we are human. And as such, we fall short of the glory of God on daily basis. This is why we must confess the sins of racism, sexism, and classism—even in the church!

Lord, please have mercy upon us!

But, do not despair, saints of God. Our God loves us so much that God gave Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life!

Jesus’ shed blood upon the cross means that when we confess our sin, God is faithful and just to forgive our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Although we don’t always get it right in the church, it ought to be our soul’s desire to keep trying! We ought to hold it in our heart and prayers every single day that God would use us to be light and love to all of God’s children without respect for race, religion, national origin, color, sex, age, veteran status, disability, or any other defining characteristic!

Dear Friends, if we who are brothers and sisters because of blood (Jesus’ death) and water (baptism) cannot get this right, who will?

Every day, let us make it our commitment to eradicate racism, sexism, and classism from our personal lives and the life and ministries of God’s Church. When we mess up, let us be quick to confess and repent! And let us all fervently pray for that great day when Jesus will return in glory, a new heaven and earth will be established, and all things will be made perfect to the glory of God!

Come, Lord Jesus, Come!

Won’t you pray with me?

Holy God, thank you that in Christ we are all equal in your sight. Please give me your eyes so that I can see people just as you do! I confess that I harbor prejudice in my heart whether consciously or unconsciously. I confess that I have not always loved all of my neighbors as myself. Please forgive me of my sin and fill me with the Holy Spirit so that I can share good news and be good news in the lives of all of the people within my sphere of influence. Please use me to be light and love anywhere that you have need of it! And I pray this prayer in Jesus’ Name, Amen.


THE INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, "Come to Jesus."

http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/come-to-jesus.html