Common Ground

Scripture:
Galatians 3:28 & 29 – There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.
 
Observation:
The Galatian Christians had heard the true Gospel, had believed and received the Holy Spirit. Sometime after Paul left, the Gospel had been distorted by false teachings. They were adding requirements from the law. The main requirement was that the Gentiles must become Jews to be a Christian. Paul exposed these by explaining that you are not justified by works of the law, but only by faith in Jesus. One of other things that Paul exposed was the differences that the law made between Jew and Gentile, male and female, slave and free. During that time social standing meant a lot to how you were treated and the things that were available to you. Paul was saying that while those thing existed in society and still do today, that in God’s eyes we are all equal. We are all saved the same way, through faith in Christ Jesus. We’re not accepted because of who we are nor are we rejected because of who we are. We are all granted the same privileges. We all confess that we are sinners and that we are saved not through anything that we do or who we are, but rather by the merits of Christ Jesus. As believers, we are members of God’s family and heirs to the promise and entitled to all the blessings and freedoms of it.
 
Application:
I have had the privilege of making a numbers of mission trips to various parts of the world. At first, I thought as Americans that we had something special to share with the rest of the world. Rather God taught me that as believers that we all share a common background. We were all lost and have become brothers and sisters through our faith in Jesus. God taught me that the people of those countries didn’t need my American ways. They needed the hope of Jesus and that their faith put them on an equal footing with all believers. In a lot of ways, I did the same thing in Jackson. I saw us a having something that only we could provide. I quickly realized that just like all people, their hope had to be in Jesus. They are God’s creation and they have the same need as me. It wasn’t in what Pinelake or the other churches that came to Jackson to serve could give them. It was showing them that we loved them, because God loved us and them. God loved us while we were still sinner and we needed to do likewise. As I often heard, the ground at the foot of the cross is flat. We all have equal status in God’s kingdom.
 
Prayer:
God, I pray that you never allow me to think of myself as better than others. I thank you for your grace that is available to each and every one of us, if we’ll just ask and receive it. Teach me to love as you loved. I never want to judge others by their outward appearance, but rather to see them as you do.

— David Hardin, community missions pastor