Devotional - July 10, 2024
Scripture: Galatians 3: 28-29 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
..., divided they fall. United they stand, divided they fall. When unity fails, we fall prey to the attack strategy attributed to Julius Caesar, divide and conquer. Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, was not even to that point. He was still trying to unify the church and look at what he was trying to unify. Talk about oil and water, and more oil and water, he was up against long and well founded cultural traditions that had no intention of changing. Yet, in some ways we still are struggling with those issues. It's hard for us to see past our biases and know that before God, there are no differences between peoples. None. He does not factor in any differences that we assign, such as race, gender, or social standing. Nor does God ask our opinion of anyone. God sees every person as a product of God's creation, equal and beloved in every way. The only value God placed on anyone was the price Jesus Christ paid on the cross. Paul reminds us we all are included in the promise made to Abraham through Jesus Christ. When we start assigning values, status, and labels to people we cheapen what God has established. But before you think about all the ways you have done this to others, what has been done to you? What status or values have people labeled you with, and you let them stick. Characteristics that separated you out of the norm. Before God, they are all illusions that delude you. Jesus told us to love one another as He loved us (John 15:12). Some have attended church their whole life and never really known how much they are loved by God. They judge God's love for them by the way the world loves or loved them. Unfortunately, when you do not feel loved, appreciated, or cared about by others it affects how you treat others. Worse yet, if you have been abused or hurt by others. Folks who are caught in this kind of situation look for safety by joining groups or they stay within the norms. Moreover they enforce them, especially if their group is in control. They do not experience safety within themselves, so they try to make it in their communities. We need not cave to the fears within, but instead we have faith in our God's love for us (1 John 4:18). We need to know, God does not judge us as the world does and in the end, God will have the final say on all creation. The power found in community, especially in the church, is amazing. Everyone has different skills and abilities, combine that with our love for God and one another, and truly the sky's the limit. But separated, and we all know where separation exists there is conflict..., we fall, sooner or later. Unfortunately, that is how many view the church today, we are separated. They see all these denominations and hear about the infighting and think, what is going on? We try to dress it up by saying we are the Body of Christ, each part doing it's part. The Body of Christ is unified under Christ. Our denominations are not unified, nor are many of the churches therein. Like disjointed manikins each part is strewn about trying to do it's own thing. Sadly, we cannot do much about the church universal, but we can within our own church, our own community of faith. Like Paul, we need to remind people of their identity in Christ Jesus. We do that best when we know it first for ourselves. We can recognize that each of us has issues and comes from different backgrounds. Yet, we are united, and through our profession of faith, we are one in Christ.
Pray with me.., Holy God we admit we see the world at times through the world's eyes, not Yours. Help us to live the promises You have graciously and lovingly given us. Grant us Your wisdom. Be with our loved ones, O God, bless them according to their needs. And hear us as we pray for our church, bless us, so we can be the blessing the world needs in Jesus' name, Amen.
God's peace,
Pastor Brian
