Wednesday, May 22, 2024
The rich and poor have this in common: The Lord made them both.
Throughout human history, society has often separated and valued people by a sense that some inherently have more worth than others. Whether it is called a pecking order, a caste system, gender bias, political snobbery, social standing, or elitism, it is based on our flawed, fallen, and fleshly status systems and is offensive to God.
The Lord, our Eternal God and Creator, crafted each person in the womb of his or her mother [1] and fashioned every single person in His divine image. [2] He wants everyone to come to Him in repentance and find new life through faith in His Son, Jesus of Nazareth. [3] When we come to Christ in faith and baptism, Paul says God erases all the distinctions based in our fleshly values:
For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God's promise to Abraham belongs to you. [4]
Each person on earth is someone Christ died to save. [5] That's why we will find folks from every language, tribe, nation, and people praising Jesus together as one family, praising the Lord for what He has done to save us. [6]
Today's relationship proverb reminds us that God made the rich and poor. He values both. He wants both to know Jesus. And, He put us on earth to share His grace with both and value all! He wants us to tear down the barriers that separate us and let the Holy Spirit create one new humanity comprised of all kinds of people. [7] This realization should humble us, call us to Jesus' mission, lead us to abandon our prejudices, keep us from making superficial judgments of others, and help us realize that we have much more in common than we have in differences. If we are going to love God as we should, then we must love each other without using labels and thoughts that divide us. [8]
O Father, teach me to love others as You love them! Break down every barrier rooted in fallen human nature that wrongly separates me from others by title, race, accent, size, gender, social standing, or anything else. Help me love all people redemptively as You do. I ask this in the name of Jesus, the Lord and Savior of all people. Amen.
Together in Christ is a daily devotional that focuses on what Scripture teaches about godly living in relationships.
'Together in Christ' is written by Phil Ware.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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