“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:26-28 NIV
I think I first learned the truth of this verse when I was going through a time of healing for childhood sexual abuse. I felt so depressed that I needed a friend to talk to in between therapy sessions.I tried talking to a deacon’s wife but with disastrous results. Then I met a woman who had recently become a Christian who had prostituted herself for many years.
We shared our stories and our relationship with Christ. Soon we became close friends. One day it hit me hard – though I grew up in church, married a preacher and was serving the Lord, my life was very similar to that of my friend – full of pain and unhealed hurts. I had responded to those hurts in a different way. Yet Jesus saw us in the same light and was working equally hard in both of us to make us into the women He knew we could be.
That realization has caused me to see others in a different light – less judgemental and more accepting of who they are as human beings – we are all sinners saved by grace. It has helped me look deeper when I meet a person who rubs me the wrong way. There is always more to their story than appears on the surface and when I get a glimpse of that deeper pain, I can pray for them and love them in Christ a whole lot easier!
Truly we are all one in Jesus Christ.
Father – give me a heart of compassion for those around me. Help me to see them through your eyes – and to see how similar we really are at the most basic levels of our lives. We all need you!. Amen.
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