Who Are My People?

“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. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” — Galatians 3:27-29

Something that I have noticed as we have traveled from place to place is the tendency for people to categorize one another. It might be based on geography - native born (big deal in Texas it seems), locals, or Yankees (big deal in Southern states). Then again, it might be based on nationality or the hue of your skin. Whatever it might be, people want to put other people in a “box” and then toss in attributes and expectations they have associated with that category.  Good or bad. We met a couple while I was in Army flight school that were from Georgia.  Lee and I would go fishing early on Saturday mornings.  One day Lee said “Charley, you are the only Yankee I have ever liked.” I didn’t know if I should be happy or irritated. I chose the former.  Don’t get me wrong, Lee is a great Christian and may have said it in jest, but I also know that “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” When I would speak to men’s groups in Alabama, they always wanted to know where I was from – because of my other-than-Alabama accent. 

I have observed that many Christians choose culture and color over Christ and conversion. We have bi-racial grandchildren and I have watched while they embraced faith in Jesus they struggled with racial identity.  Their struggle is part of their old nature.  A “natural” desire to find acceptability from others.  I noticed that when I would go to the store with my granddaughter, when we approached a white person, they would acknowledge me and not her.  When we approached an African American, they would acknowledge her and not me. I wondered, “What lesson are they teaching her?” I will tell you. That what you look like, where you are from, how you talk, where you live is who you are. What does the Bible have to say about it?

“For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.’” – 2 Corinthians 5:14-19

We have a ministry of reconciliation. When people are reconciled to God through faith in Jesus, then they will be reconciled to each other and brothers and sisters. It should not matter where you are from or what you look like.  What should matter is who your Father is.  Who your Lord is. The idea that I must first accept your old nature – your natural self before we can embrace each other as children of God is of the devil. Sound harsh? Spiritual truth often does when it confronts our old nature. But wait, there’s more! We cannot do the right thing on our own, it is Spiritual and requires spiritual power to do that.  When we embrace each other on the basis of our faith and new birth, we do it by the power of God. The greatest commandment is to love God and when you do, you will fulfill the second greatest commandment which is to love others – and not just those who are like you. (Matthew 22:37-39)