Today's Readings - Jeremiah 3-4, Galatians 2, Psalm 109:13–19, Proverbs 24:3–4
Devotional - Vive La Difference
No, this time, the difference isn't between men and women, although that difference is an exquisite highlight of God's creation. This time, we are talking about the beauty of God's diversity built into the church of Jesus Christ. This was the key thrust of Paul's ministry. He proclaimed salvation by God's grace apart from the works of the law. From the day he met Jesus on the road to Damascus he knew that he had been called to a ministry that was different from that of the other Apostles. He was the light to the Gentiles, called to spearhead the spread of the gospel outside of its original Jewish environment.
And that really annoyed a lot of the Jews. They wanted everything to stay the same. The church should stay the same - same preaching to the same people with the same culture and the same rules - they wanted everything in the church to stay Jewish. But Paul was called by God to make things different. And that's okay.
In verse 7, Paul says,
The sad fact is that the church has always tried to unite around things other than the gospel, other than Jesus, other than grace. We've united around skin color and culture. We've united around nationality and even where we come from in the United States. We've united around age and socioeconomic status, and whether we are cowboys or bikers or hipsters or whatever other human division we could come up with.
Jesus died for a church with a difference - many differences. White, black and every shade in between. Young and old. Rich and poor. From every race, tribe, and tongue on earth. And we need to join with our Savior in saying, "Vive la difference."
And that really annoyed a lot of the Jews. They wanted everything to stay the same. The church should stay the same - same preaching to the same people with the same culture and the same rules - they wanted everything in the church to stay Jewish. But Paul was called by God to make things different. And that's okay.
In verse 7, Paul says,
On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised...That's what God intended, from the very beginning. To the ends of the earth. God doesn't want the church to be young or old, he wants it to be young and old. He doesn't want the church to be white or black, but white and black. The church is supposed to be a smorgasbord, a rainbow, a variety of colors and styles and nationalities and languages and...well, and lots of stuff. We are united by one thing only - we have been brought to God by the blood of Christ. We are recipients of grace and have received a salvation we couldn't earn.
The sad fact is that the church has always tried to unite around things other than the gospel, other than Jesus, other than grace. We've united around skin color and culture. We've united around nationality and even where we come from in the United States. We've united around age and socioeconomic status, and whether we are cowboys or bikers or hipsters or whatever other human division we could come up with.
Jesus died for a church with a difference - many differences. White, black and every shade in between. Young and old. Rich and poor. From every race, tribe, and tongue on earth. And we need to join with our Savior in saying, "Vive la difference."
Father, may I be a man who so loves Jesus that he is the only characteristic I care about in others. Their color or wealth or anything else must pale before their standing in him - it must be Christ, and Christ alone!
Think and Pray
Are you motivated by culture and race, age and social standing?
Or are you a man or woman of Christ, and Christ alone?
Prayerfully consider this!
Think and Pray
Which of the readings spoke most powerfully to you today?Is the Spirit of God moving you to repent of something you are doing, to begin something new, or to change something about your life as a result of your readings? What?
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