Galatians 3:28-29 – “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
“I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
Okay, today’s word is actually two words, but appropriate to our current word study. You are a generation that gives me great hope for the promise of the following words from the Declaration of Independence:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Your generation doesn’t see differences in color or gender, like the generations before you. We are brothers and sisters in Christ and nothing supersedes this fact. As I said the other day, our ‘sameness’ as believers is more powerful than our differences. Don’t get me wrong our differences and individualism is very important and should be respected, but what binds us together so that we aren’t fixated on each other’s differences, is our faith. 1 Corinthians 12:12 says, “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.” We love each other because we recognize just how much Christ loved us. We care for each other because we know just how much Christ cared for us. We worship and sing together because we know we are undeserving of His grace and mercy. When you enter fellowship with Christians you leave your economic status at the door and check your coat of privilege. Your cultural or family background has no relevance here. Christ has center stage. He’s top billing on the playbill. He’s the star and we are His supporting cast in common unity to worship Him.
Today we celebrate the greatness of Martin Luther King, Jr. We recognize the achievements of a life that embodied the life Christ modeled for each of us to live. I’m old enough to faintly remember him, but I have been a witness to his legacy and I pray each of you will embrace his words:
We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
God's Word for Fuel 