Galatians 3: 26 – 29 26 For in Christ Jesus you are all sons and daughters of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 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. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
In the Old Testament, there was a distinction between men and women, a feeling that women were less than men since they weren’t circumcised. Women were often looked down upon as not part of, or fully part of, the covenant. Anyone who was not a Jew was a “Greek”, a non-Jew, and was to be kept separate, not allowed table fellowship with Jews. If you were a slave, (about 25% of the population at the time) you weren’t considered a good Jew. You were property to be bought and sold at your master’s convenience. There was a separation among the people. Paul in Galatians does something amazing! He brings God’s word to us to say stop! Everyone is my child. Because you have put on Christ, you are all equal. It doesn’t matter what gender you are, whether free or slave, what color, ethnic background – you are all the same.
Wow! We are also called sons and daughters – we are part of God’s family and have inherited from him the ability to be part of his family. No other faith calls their people sons and daughters. This is an intimate relationship and if we are all sons and daughters, then we are all equal before God, brothers and sisters in Christ. This is powerful. This is all done because we have put on Christ. This is such an amazing phrase – we change our clothes, and we are called to “wear” Christ. To put him on means to take on the person of Jesus. He becomes part of us, and we are walking in him. When we seek to know Christ more through worship, prayer, service, study, and reading, we then can become more like him and once we do that, we become his children through faith and baptism – the engrafting in the family of God. This is open to everyone and we are thus equal and all children of the King. This is great news – everyone is called and equal at the table.
Prayer:
Lord God, help us to see each other as one. We too often look at appearances, skin color, clothes, tattoos, piercings, whatever is different from us and just see the outside. Holy Spirit, convict us of these judgements as I put on Jesus and grow deeper in faith and love. Help me reach out to all my brothers and sisters to welcome them and to love them as fellow members of the body.
Amen.
21 Days of Prayer & Fasting 