Wednesday, October 22, 2014
COLOSSIANS 3:11
11Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
11Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
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There really is no place for tribalism in the family of God.
For the Christian, it is not our religious heritage,
not our race or cultural roots,
not our ancestry or nationality,
not our occupation or station in life, and certainly
not the person God used to lead us to salvation, that makes us significant.
Our identity is first, and foremost in Christ who "is all, and in all."
The Apostle had plenty to brag about. He was "a Hebrew of the Hebrews," (Philippians 3:5). He was intelligent and highly educated. He knew Hebrew, Greek, and was familiar with Latin. He wasn't kidding when he told the Corinthians "I speak with tongues more than ye all." (1 Corinthians 14:18). He was educated in the school of Gamaliel--one of the best teachers in the Temple at Jerusalem. Yet he testified, "what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ." (Philippians 3:7)
Placing ourselves above God is obviously wrong. Placing ourselves above other people is also wrong. Both tendencies are natural. Neither tendency is characteristic of the spiritual.
Isn't it interesting how much satisfaction we derive from circumstances that are completely out of our control (i.e. race or ethnicity), and how dismissive we are of our standing in Christ--a standing that is ours because we choose to believe and He chose to receive us.
Whoever we are, whatever our station, wherever we've come from, and however long we have been Christians, what matters most is that CHRIST IS ALL, AND IN ALL!
What joyful, boundary-less unity we have in Him!
We sing:
I don't care what church you belong to,
Just as long as for Calvary you stand,
Just as long as your heart beats with my heart,
You're my brother so please take my hand.
There really is no place for tribalism in the family of God.
For the Christian, it is not our religious heritage,
not our race or cultural roots,
not our ancestry or nationality,
not our occupation or station in life, and certainly
not the person God used to lead us to salvation, that makes us significant.
Our identity is first, and foremost in Christ who "is all, and in all."
The Apostle had plenty to brag about. He was "a Hebrew of the Hebrews," (Philippians 3:5). He was intelligent and highly educated. He knew Hebrew, Greek, and was familiar with Latin. He wasn't kidding when he told the Corinthians "I speak with tongues more than ye all." (1 Corinthians 14:18). He was educated in the school of Gamaliel--one of the best teachers in the Temple at Jerusalem. Yet he testified, "what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ." (Philippians 3:7)
Placing ourselves above God is obviously wrong. Placing ourselves above other people is also wrong. Both tendencies are natural. Neither tendency is characteristic of the spiritual.
Isn't it interesting how much satisfaction we derive from circumstances that are completely out of our control (i.e. race or ethnicity), and how dismissive we are of our standing in Christ--a standing that is ours because we choose to believe and He chose to receive us.
Whoever we are, whatever our station, wherever we've come from, and however long we have been Christians, what matters most is that CHRIST IS ALL, AND IN ALL!
What joyful, boundary-less unity we have in Him!
We sing:
I don't care what church you belong to,
Just as long as for Calvary you stand,
Just as long as your heart beats with my heart,
You're my brother so please take my hand.
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