“For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 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” (Galatians 3:27-28).
“You are all one in Christ.”
This is a spiritual, heavenly, eternal fact.
It is not just a polite way of thinking.
It is not just the loving attitude to have.
It is not an appeal we make to others.
It is the way God sees us.
It is the way God cares for each of us in Christ.
It is our eternal, immutable status in Christ.
It is who we are.
Therefore, it is the way we must learn to see ourselves.
The way we must accept ourselves.
And the way we must carry ourselves.
Side glances from others do not change who we are.
Suspicion when we walk in a store doesn’t change who we are.
Calling the police on us does not change who we are.
Harassment by the police does not change who we are.
Nothing anyone says,
Nothing anyone does,
Nothing anyone thinks changes our status.
It is not granted to us by others.
It cannot be taken away by others.
We rightly petition and protest to be treated equally,
But let us begin by realizing we are equal,
And beyond equal. We are one in Christ.
Whether anyone accepts it or not.
We do not need the validation of others to make it true.
Christ’s blood has made it true.
When we believe it is true
When we believe God loves us
And accepts us freely, fully
And without a hint of disdain,
We live powerfully.
We live confidently.
We live lovingly.
We live a Christ-centered life.
We are one in Christ.
And for any Christian to think otherwise
Of any other believer, it is not racism,
It is not sexism or any other “ism.”
No, it is worse than that.
It is a different gospel,
Which makes it heresy.
This is a spiritual, heavenly, eternal fact.
It is not just a polite way of thinking.
It is not just the loving attitude to have.
It is not an appeal we make to others.
It is the way God sees us.
It is the way God cares for each of us in Christ.
It is our eternal, immutable status in Christ.
It is who we are.
Therefore, it is the way we must learn to see ourselves.
The way we must accept ourselves.
And the way we must carry ourselves.
Side glances from others do not change who we are.
Suspicion when we walk in a store doesn’t change who we are.
Calling the police on us does not change who we are.
Harassment by the police does not change who we are.
Nothing anyone says,
Nothing anyone does,
Nothing anyone thinks changes our status.
It is not granted to us by others.
It cannot be taken away by others.
We rightly petition and protest to be treated equally,
But let us begin by realizing we are equal,
And beyond equal. We are one in Christ.
Whether anyone accepts it or not.
We do not need the validation of others to make it true.
Christ’s blood has made it true.
When we believe it is true
When we believe God loves us
And accepts us freely, fully
And without a hint of disdain,
We live powerfully.
We live confidently.
We live lovingly.
We live a Christ-centered life.
We are one in Christ.
And for any Christian to think otherwise
Of any other believer, it is not racism,
It is not sexism or any other “ism.”
No, it is worse than that.
It is a different gospel,
Which makes it heresy.
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