“I think it is one of the tragedies –– one of the shameful tragedies –– that 11 o’clock on Sunday morning is one of the most segregated hours, if not the most segregated hour, in Christian America…” Martin Luther King Jr.
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus Galatians 3:26-28
I can only imagine what the impact of these words were as believers gathered to hear Paul’s letter read aloud. Paul was stating that Jews and Gentiles stood on equal ground in Christ. That slaves were not inferior to their masters. That women were not subservient to men. All status is equal at the cross. In Christ, there is equal standing, and this is ordained by God’s own command.
Yet, interestingly enough, in the world today, there are still marked racial divides. Women did not even get the right to vote in America until 1920. In some cultures, and religions, there are still clear, and at times violent, repressions that are carried out due to the beliefs that all humans are not equally of value.
Imagine receiving such a letter as Paul’s some 2000 years ago in a culture that had never heard of such a thing! Is it any wonder that Paul died a martyr’s death? That Christians, who proclaimed the good news of loving all neighbors whatever their gender or status, also often suffered martyrdom?
We as Christians have the mission to deliver that same message as Paul. All people are loved and valued by God.
Can we as human beings do any less than what God expects?
Prayer: Lord, give us the vision and passion to live the word that God loves all people, Amen
Reflections of a Counselor 