For centuries, people lived distinctly
divided lives. Identity remained defined by the group into which each person
was born or married. Then Jesus taught people about God, himself, and the Holy
Spirit that would reside within them after his death, and he gave them a new
way to define themselves. Jesus presented an idea of community that no one had
ever seen. In this community, all manner of people, wealthy or poor, Gentile or
Jew, slave or free, were welcome.
Think
of all the dissimilar people that Jesus brought together! People like C.S. Lewis,
Bono, Joel Osteen, Denzel Washington, and Tim Tebow; all of them united
because of one man—Jesus Christ!
We
are all one body united in Christ. As sinners and broken people, whether we are
black or white, Asian or German, tall or short, single or married, parents or
children, hip or nerdy, new believers or spiritual authorities, we are one
community. Only one thing matters: Our identity is found in Jesus Christ, and
he lives in all of us. Jesus brought us all together. He gave us hope through
community. Who else could do that?
One of the most predominant principles shared in most westernized
societies is the right of citizens to obtain an education. From about five
years of age until around age eighteen, it is expected that children will
attend school and be taught the knowledge, skills, customs and values necessary
to shape them into productive members of society. This has become such a common
occurrence that it’s pretty much taken for granted. But it wasn’t always so.
The life and teachings of Jesus would radically alter the “status quo”
of education being a privilege only for the elite and would shape the
foundation of education. Jesus, the
ultimate Teacher of all time, set the precedence for making no distinction
between fishermen, women, rich, poor, outcasts, young or old. His classroom was
on mountaintops, in boats, synagogues, roadways and private homes. He taught
one-on-one, in small and large groups, both privately and publically. He used
methods that everyone could understand through parables, stories and everyday
life occurrences and examples.
Jesus revealed to us the mysteries of God; of His immeasurable truth,
love, mercy and grace. Through his teachings, Jesus gives us the hope of a
relationship with God and his death on the cross. His burial and resurrection
make that relationship a certainty.
In Mark 3:17, Jesus taught that we are to
follow the rules laid down by government while still surrendering to God all
that belongs to God...which, of course, is everything else. In his time, Jesus’
statement was an abomination because he pointed out that, while government is
an important element in our lives, there is also another realm, a second and
ultimate authority by which we are governed. The Pharisees realized that, under
this man’s reign, their dominion could be profoundly limited, and they were
having none of it! But even by killing him, they couldn’t change what Jesus had
set into motion.
From that time until now, disciples of Christ have been standing on
these precepts. When it came time for our forefathers to design a governing
document for this new world, they purposefully based it on the teachings of
Jesus Christ: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal, and have been endowed by their Creator with certain rights…”
Jesus was also the architect of our global concepts toward human rights
and dignity. He delivered a fresh perspective, and Galatians 3 reported that,
in Christ Jesus, there is no longer a
distinction between people, and that we are all one our servanthood to
him. In this election year, it’s important to remember that this powerful
perspective grew sturdy legs throughout political history. Martin Luther King,
in fact, was inspired by scripture at The Mall in Washington, D.C. when he
began to quote the Book of Amos and
ultimately moved forward to declare to the gathering crowd: “I have a
dream...that one day…”
# # #
Sandie leads a team of writers in creating the Living It Out daily Bible study for CedarCreek Church.
Today's devotion is borrowed from the Living It Out study on HOPE. If you enjoyed it, feel free to check
out the daily
studies by e-mail or audio podcast by clicking HERE.
