Unity in Diversity – July 20, 2019

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 3:26-29

Unity in Diversity

Most schools have a certain dress code, and some even require children to wear school uniforms. The purpose of this is to create an atmosphere of equality and to keep children from competing with one another to see who can dress the most stylishly and expensively. While dress codes and school uniforms might be a good thing, it is impossible to remove everything that makes us different. Some people are tall; others are short. Some are better in school, and others are better in sports. Some are wealthy; others are poor. Some are powerful and influential, and many are everyday working-class citizens. These differences can create tension and even animosity in our lives. The poor envy the rich. The powerful often take advantage of those with less power, and those with less power sometimes complain and grumble against their leaders.

Thankfully, when it comes to our status before God, all of these differences are dissolved in Christ. In fact, our baptisms are kind of like our spiritual uniform. Just think about that for a moment. Since all of us were born into this world with a sinful nature and hostile to God, we were all the same before baptism. We all desperately needed baptism to wash us clean of our sins. Through the water of baptism connected with the Word of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we were clothed with Christ.

Because of baptism we all wear the same clothes, the clothes of our righteous Savior, Jesus Christ. This is our uniform, but even more than that, this guarantees our relationship with God. We are his children. While there might be many things that make us different, we are all the same through faith in Christ. We are all God’s dear children. All diversity is removed in this perfect unity.

Prayer:
Dear God, help me to remember my baptism every day of my life and to rejoice in the fact that because of your dear promises to me, I am your own dear child. Amen.