3-24-2021

 Good Morning All,

    Galatians 3:28;”There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male or female, for you are all one in Christ.”

     Why is it that we always seem to look for the differences at first?  Why do we seek those things which we use to divide and separate?  It often starts out innocent enough: it is how we identify individuals.  We see Suzy as the short, blonde girl and Billy as the tall red head.  But all too soon we take those differences and use them to hold others down or try to push them back; all in an effort to get to the front.  So we take those differences and we begin to categorize people.  This group is greedy; this group is lazy, this group is selfish, this group is made up of criminals.  (I didn’t list who but you probably filled in the blanks).  Instead of looking at what we have in common and try and build on that; we build walls to keep some back from us or out of our sight or away from us.

    Yet when God looks at people He sees one thing, a sinful creature.  Before God we are all the same.  There is no difference; we are all sinners deserving eternal punishment.  But by God’s grace, God sees only righteousness and holiness when He looks at His redeemed children.  All God sees is Christ’s atoning sacrifice.  He sees us as one in Christ, holy and undefiled.  We are not male or female, tall or short, fat or skinny, black, brown, white, yellow, purple or orange; we are the redeemed children of God.  That is how God sees us and that is how we should see our fellow believer.  We are all the same.  We are forgiven sinners who live by God’s grace and mercy.  We need to tear down the walls we build and see what God sees, forgiven creatures.

   This is part of the calling for the Church.  We are not to place people into categories and sub-divisions, we are to see God’s beloved creatures.  They may be dazed, battered, beaten, and wounded but they are truly God’s children.  They are in need of compassion, God’s compassion and God uses ordinary means to deliver His compassion.  It comes in the form of your warm embrace, your attentive ear, your comforting message, your passionate prayers all play a role in God’s kingdom.  This is part of the reign of God’s kingdom here on earth, while we wait for Jesus to return; we are to actively have compassion with all of God’s children.  This is our calling; this is our task.  It may seem a daunting task but remember God is working through you, this is not of us but of God.  We only have to see the pain and bring comfort; God will work the rest.  That task of salvation is God’s alone; we are to speak His love and act His love and trust in His unfailing grace to accomplish what He wills.    

 Father in heaven, too often we let our sinful nature lead us into prejudice and suspicion.  Forgive us our sin.  Guide us Lord to remove the walls and the barriers which we build between us and our fellow believers.  Cause us to see them as our brothers in Christ and to feel their pain and to share in their joy to your glory here on earth.  In Jesus’ precious Name we pray, Amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret