Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today- January 19, 2013
“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew or Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26–28).
Christianity is colorblind. The foot of the Cross is level and acceptable for all who embrace faith in Jesus Christ. Man erects barriers, but belief in Christ tears them down. Man makes himself superior and treats others as inferior. However, our superior Savior Jesus makes humble followers of the Lord significant.
Your devotion to Christ is meant to dissolve distrust toward those different from you. In fact, it is out of the beauty of diversity that your beliefs are made real. Faith untested by inclusiveness is indeed inferior. Belief in God equalizes egos and checks pride. Our Christian brand promise is love for one another, because He first loved us.
No race can escape the love of God and His children. Racial healing is a result of radical inclusiveness; so invite others inside. Oneness is the outcome of devotion to Christ. The free set others free, and all become bondservants of Christ. Those in bondage are set free to live life for the Lord and others.
Men and women become one in marriage and one in their love for the Lord. Races have no reason to boast over their lineage other than it is a gift from God. He determined when and where you where born. Your life was planned ahead by Providence. Therefore, thank God for giving you the family and the life He has given you.
Take responsibility for your actions, living life with gratitude and grace. Forgive freely, as Christ has forgiven you, and remove any race resentment with grace insistence. Heaven heals hearts on earth when they are unified by faith in Christ Jesus.
His passionate prayer is, “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:20–21 NASB).
Prayer: How can I be a facilitator of race healing by the grace of God in Christ Jesus?
Related Readings: Exodus 12:48–49; Ezekiel 17:23; Matthew 23:8; Acts 10:28–47
Taken from the January 19th reading in the new 365-day devotional book, “Seeking Daily the Heart of God” vol. 2… … http://bit.ly/Tv6y9a
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Thank you for this thoughtful and timely piece as (I believe) we are still a nation in need of healing in many ways. Thank you for highlighting this particular problem within the Biblical context.
We are definitely in need of healing and guidance.
Thank you for this devotional. It is indeed timely. Racism is something that has puzzled me about people who believe in Jesus Christ. Standing up for what is right is not always easy; you may even have to stand by yourself. God will honor what is right.
Thank you so much for the recent lesson concerning racial healing.
We as Christians are supposed to edify the Body if Christ. It is so discouraging to come accross denominational teachings that deliberately cause divisions in the Body. This should not be. I have even heard very well known radio ministries that teach against bi-racial marriages. Some of these divisions stem from older cultural standards of the past.
There aren’t supposed to be divisions in the Body of Christ. The part of us that is made in God’s image is our spirits.
If you think about it there truly is only one race, namely the human race. We may have different ethnic groups but a different ethnic group is not a different species.
You have to give yourself permission put someone down or to mistreat them. As the scripture asks, How can we love God whom we have not seen and hate our brother whom we have seen. Every mistreatment of another ethnic group in history was justified by labeling the other ethnic group as different and as less than the group who wanted to dominate or mistreat this “other” ethnic group of people. Does mistreating people make you better than anyone else?
It takes so much more to edify others than it does to put someone else down.
I choose to edify and build up others instead of tearing down. We have more than enough tearing down as it is. What we need a move of God in the Body of Christ to edify. We can demonstrate the love of God by chosing to build up others.
Thank you so much for teaching us that in the eyes of God and in His Word, there are no divisions in the Body of Christ. The only divisions here on earth are all made man.