All One In Jesus Christ

YOU ARE ALL ONE IN CHRIST JESUS. Galatians 3.28.

I live in Malaysia where I migrated to from India in the late fifties. It was interesting to see the Malays, Chinese and Indians mixing so freely. No one was fearful or worried about the other. But old fashioned mothers from the village used to instill fear and suspicion in their little children about the other races! Even today this is happening and unfortunately not just among the poor and uneducated!

We live in a global village with cosmopolitan cities and towns. We are no longer segregated from one another or live in communal and cultural settings with boundaries that separate us. A lot of prejudices and fears have gone because of the sheer necessity to co-exist and survive. Yet, during certain occasions, we still see in our communities the ugly head of segregation and prejudices arising!

It was the same in the days of the early Church also. The Jew, the pagans and also the Christians, were against each other, for even religious reasons. The Lord Jesus spoke against it and acted deliberately to demolish such racial, cultural and even national hang-ups! The apostle Paul, who was a fanatical Jew and hated everyone else, was transformed by the power of the love of Jesus Christ. He cast aside his prejudices for all.

The churches of the first century were formed when the Jews and the Gentiles were converted to Christ through the preaching of the gospel. The apostle Paul wrote to the churches in Asia Minor (Middle East) and Europe on many of their perplexing issues. One of them was obviously a ‘racial and national prejudice' that separated the new believers in the churches.

He wrote, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (vs 26-28).

It is beyond belief how this truth has brought freedom from all former fears and prejudices among the believers around the world today. When true believers gather in our churches on Sunday for worship, they ‘hug and embrace each other’, even strangers! We have become totally oblivious of each others race, colour, language and nationality!

Each time we celebrate the Lord’s communion and eat of the same bread and drink of the same cup, blessed emblems of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us on the cross, how forcefully we are reminded of the unity that we have in His body, the Church!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, please remove from me all vestiges of racial prejudices and fear. Fill my heart, by Your Holy Spirit, with the love of God for all. Amen.