In Christ: No Division, No Fear, Only Love
Daily Scripture
Galatians 3:26-28, 1 John 4:18-21
Galatians 3
26 You are all God’s children through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
1 John 4
18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear expects punishment. The person who is afraid has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love because God first loved us. 20 If anyone says, I love God, and hates a brother or sister, he is a liar, because the person who doesn’t love a brother or sister who can be seen can’t love God, who can’t be seen. 21 This commandment we have from him: Those who claim to love God ought to love their brother and sister also.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
At the foundation of all Christian faith is the trust that God loves us—that God created human beings out of love and for love. This was (and is) quite extraordinary. Egyptians, Canaanites, Greeks, Romans—none of them believed their gods loved them. But Christians believe Jesus embodied that belief and showed us how it shapes life for the better. And that belief makes a real difference in how we relate to all other people—those close to us and those who are “other.” Paul told the Galatians that in Jesus, ethnic, economic/social, and gender distinctions all lost their power to divide us and cause fear and separation.
- Why would perfect love drive out fear? Have you ever experienced a situation in which, as love developed for another person, fear of that person decreased and disappeared? 1 John 4:20 got blunt and may make us uncomfortable: “If anyone says, I love God, and hates a brother or sister, he is a liar.” To what extent do you agree that hate for human beings rules out genuine love for God? Why would that be the case?
- Paul’s words were revolutionary: “There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” In Paul’s world, these categories defined everything—who you could eat with, worship with, marry. Yet Paul said in Christ, these distinctions lost their power to divide. What modern categories—political affiliation, race, economic class, gender orientation, nationality—create fear and division in your life? How does being “clothed with Christ” challenge you to see people differently than these categories suggest?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, sometimes I find your ways appealing. Sometimes I find them hard. I need your grace to guide and energize me to more and more see everyone as a person you love, even the ones who frustrate or scare me. Amen.
GPS Insights
Anne Williams
Anne Williams, who has served as a pastor at Resurrection since 2011 and is now the Resurrection Downtown Location Pastor, wrote today's Insights. She loves to guide the process of reconstructing faith. She and her husband, Eric, raise two sons, Jude and Reid.
The words we just read in the Scripture notes above are not to be skimmed over. Darrell writes, “At the foundation of all Christian faith is the trust that God loves us—that God created human beings out of love and for love. This was (and is) quite extraordinary. Egyptians, Canaanites, Greeks, Romans—none of them believed their gods loved them.” This is a most profound and life-altering statement.
But how can you believe that, especially at moments when you do not feel loved? Madeleine L’Engle shared a deeply insightful statement from H. A. Williams: “Justification by faith means that I have nothing else on which to depend except my receptivity to what I can never own or manage. And this very capacity to receive cannot be the result of effort. Faith is something given, not achieved. It is created by God’s word in Christ.” *
Did you grow up confident God loves you? Did you come to learn and understand it later in life? Was there a pivotal moment that brought the blurry into focus for you? I speak to many individuals who were taught otherwise, implicitly or explicitly. They were made to feel like they were never-enough, didn’t quite measure up, or maybe someday when they get their life in order, if they try hard enough, they would be worthy of God’s love. But in fact, it is God’s nature to love unconditionally and there is nothing we can do or refrain from doing to change that. I’m sorry if anyone ever told you otherwise.
That’s the marvelous mystery of it all, none of us is worthy and that inability to earn it puts all of us on equal ground. We are recipients God’s grace, longing for a Savior.
Pause and let the truth that God loves you settle into your heart for just a moment. Let it begin to knit a new story within you. Let it embolden you to approach everyone you meet with that unconditional loving spirit.
God loves you and there’s nothing you can do it about it.
* L’Engle, Madeleine, Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art (p. 170). Harmony/Rodale/Convergent. Kindle Edition.
