By David ReayTuesday 25 Feb 2020LifeWords DevotionalsDevotionsReading Time: 2 minutes
In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. (THE MESSAGE)
It is so sad that even within the Christian church there are ‘in groups’ and ‘out groups’. Some who consider themselves superior; some who reckon they and only they are the proper bearers of the Christian tradition.
There are no first- or second-class Christians. If we belong to God through faith in who Jesus is and what he has done, then we are equal members of his family. God doesn’t have ‘pet’ Christians, he doesn’t play favourites. No ethnic group can claim priority over another. No gender is superior to another. Social class distinctions are not relevant when it comes to belonging to God’s family and being loved to the limit by the Father of that family.
And yet this doesn’t mean differences are obliterated or that they don’t matter. To say male and female are equal in God’s eyes does not wipe out gender distinction. Some Christians will be more educated than others, richer than others, more skilful than others. Equality doesn’t mean uniformity.
It means that we don’t let our obvious and necessary differences override our status as equally loved and accepted by God. We allow ourselves to be defined not by earthly labels but by our having the Spirit of God within us, assuring us of our membership of a family that embraces all kinds and flavours of people.
However different we might be, we are all accepted and loved in the same way by an apparently indiscriminate God.
Blessings
David