There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. (Galatians 3:28,29 ESV)
Fear Not… Then Be in Christ
The pendulum swings.
When I was young, we announced our national heritage to show that even though we were one nation, we had some unique qualities. But today, we seem to announce our heritage to show and prove that we are not really united. That our differences outweigh our unity.
When I was young, my community noticed hair color, height, weight, and even skin color to show that even though we were all humans, we had some unique qualities. But today, we seem to notice those differences and find tiny unities in them, instead of holding to the foundational commonality of human nature.
When I was young, we sought fellowship, kindred-spirits, and togetherness, desiring to pull people together. But today, we seem to favor uniqueness, individuality, and island-living, even in a crowd.
I wonder if these changes come from our claiming the wrong glue for unity. We looked to citizenship, interests, goals, and familiarity. We looked to common traits, common likes, and common habits. We looked to a prideful unity, a powerful unity, and a pleasant unity.
When we should have been listening to Paul.
He says that the unity that counts is unity in Christ. All other unity-claims are weak and destined for failure.
Jews and Greeks are no longer primary actors on the world stage. Slaves have found empty freedom, and freefolk are enslaved in bonds of our own making. Men and Woman strive for dominance and compete for every felt need, desire, or position.
But Christ remains.
In Paul’s day, as well as in ours, Christ is the umbrella that brings the world together. Christian men and Christian women are able to know love. Christian politicians can have a united goal, even if disagreeing on some details. Christian business owners, employers, employees, and self-employed can all find eternal profit and love-aimed practices and policies.
But it is really less complicated than that.
Unity appears when Christ is King.
Fear not, then be in Christ.