![]() ![]() There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus ( Galatians 3:28, ESV).īut to be clear, just because we know what Jesus taught or have studied his life does not mean that we will have what we need to be reconciled to others. So, when (and only when) we totally surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, those things that used to divide us no longer matter. The gospel calls us to deny ourselves, lose our own life, defer to others, love our neighbor, and forgive our enemies. When we look through the lens of the gospel, although we still see skin color, eye color, hair color, clothing style, tattoos, body size and shape, gender, and everything else that is unique about someone, those distinctions no longer influence our love for them. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is truly the great unifier of humankind. So, Jesus taught about reconciliation, he demonstrated it, and then. He spent time with, talked with, and ministered to a rich tax collector named Zacchaeus, a rough fisherman named Peter, a philosopher named Nicodemus, a woman that had been possessed by demons named Mary, a group of outcast lepers, countless handicapped men and women, and the marginalized of society. To top it off, as he was hanging on a cross dying, himself, he forgave the sins of a convicted criminal. He rebuked his disciples when they tried to keep children away and welcomed their distraction with open arms ( Matthew 19). While the religious people around Jesus were notorious for their hypocrisy, Jesus always “practiced what he preached.” For example, Jesus went out of his way to stop and have a conversation with an ashamed and divorced Samaritan woman in John 4. Not only did Jesus teach about it, though. Even more than that, Jesus raised the bar so high with how we treat others that he said to “be perfect” ( Matthew 5:48). He said not to retaliate when someone hurts you, but to “turn the other cheek” ( Matthew 5). ![]() He taught that people who recognized their spiritual poverty and hunger would be blessed instead of those who had it all together ( Matthew 6). In fact, Jesus did exponentially more to bring people together than anyone else in history - combined! While Jesus’ goal was not just to end social injustices (although many in his day wanted him to), what he accomplished made a way for injustices and sins of every kind to be totally forgiven and overcome. If that is what we have to work with, no wonder every generation (especially ours today) deals with hatred, division, and racism - it is our nature.īut then someone came along and offered humanity a different way. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God ( Galatians 5:19-21, NLT). Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. The Apostle Paul describes who we are apart from Christ: Of course, it makes sense that we are so hateful and divisive when you consider the depravity of humanity. ![]() Sadly, it seemed to go downhill from there. The first child ever born killed his only brother (who was the second child to ever be born!). In the Book of Genesis, we read that Adam and Eve’s son, Cain, got angry and “rose up against his brother Abel and killed him” ( Genesis 4:8, ESV). The Bible shows us that it has been that way pretty much from the beginning. From riots to wars to concentration camps, it seems to me that humanity has managed to fight and separate more often than they have been peaceful and unified. You do not have to look very far through human history to see that we have a consistent pattern of division. ![]()
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