Jesus Levelled The Playing Field

So much is happening in the world today.

Are you confused at how we are to think and respond to the current events?

Racism has been brought forth into our view but sadly it has been rumbling beneath the surface with outbursts here and there for centuries.

These issues have been burdening my heart for such a long time. I have wrestled within myself when people have spoken to me about certain people groups having more favour with God than others. My heart breaks when I hear that people have been persecuted simply because of how they look or where they come from.

“There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Galatians 3:28 (NLT)

Does God favour certain cultures and people groups?

No, no He doesn’t.

As Christians we claim that Jesus loves everyone and that all are important to Him. We claim that every man, woman and child is equal in the eyes of God, yet I hear people elevating people groups quite often.

We must never do that. It’s in direct violation of God’s Word.

The verse quoted above states that there is NO LONGER Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. FOR YOU ARE ALL ONE IN CHRIST JESUS!

There is no longer ANY type of segregation in the eyes of God. None whatsoever. Jesus levelled the playing field through His life, death and resurrection.

God does not favour one people group above another. He has no favourites. Neither must we.

Many people are crying out with the pain of racism and rightly so.

But lifting up these groups, as well as many others, above everyone else is not right. Nor is it ever OK to elevate ‘white’ men and women above others.

That is Old Covenant thinking, not Better Covenant truth.

Jesus Levelled the Playing Field!

As I was desperately trying to work all this out in my mind, the Lord interrupted my thoughts with this:

“Jesus levelled the playing field.”

We must see ALL people as Jesus does – full of potential and greatness. No matter what colour, race or religion.

Jesus sees everyone as equal but not the same. He sees that each person needs to be treated with respect, dignity and honour, and filled with hope and love. We are not the same because we all have different skills and talents required for different tasks to make the world go round.

We are all equal in the Father’s eyes.

I grew up in a small town where there was a Mission about 10kms outside of town. Here is where the Aborigines were sent to live. There were many living inside the town as well. I lived next door to them. I walked home from school with them. To me they were no different to anyone else. They were my friends.

I simply do not understand racism.

Who has a right to treat anyone less than? People are people no matter what colour they are, what country they come from or what religion they follow.

In the movies today, Jesus and His disciples are portrayed as white men. They weren’t. They would have had much darker skin. They all would have been a lot more muscular than what is portrayed in pictures and movies too. Jesus was a carpenter but he was more a stonemason as there was not a lot of wood where He grew up and partook in Joseph’s business. Jesus would have had to have been very strong and muscular to be lifting the stones. Peter and Andrew were fishermen so they would have been muscular, dragging in boatloads of fish.

What is portrayed in all sorts of media is not actually what has happened.

My Point?

The point I am trying to make is that as Believers, we need to be intentional about treating each and every person as equals – just as Jesus did. There is no room for racism, judgement or segregation in Christianity.

My heart breaks for the people who are treated less than and it needs to stop … NOW! Black lives do matter and so do Asian lives, African lives, European lives, Australian’s lives, everybody’s life …

… including babies!

Where is the outcry for the millions of abortions that occur every year? Do we not see what Satan is doing, choking off life before it even begins? Think of Moses and Jesus where there were mass murders of babies. This is not a new scheme – it’s just been legalised.

I digress …

There are so many issues in the world: homelessness, racism, the slave trade in all its forms, abortion, abuse, abandonment, dysfunctional families, suicide, people kept in the victim mentality, etc.

What Can You and Me Do?

I do believe that we must stand up for those that have only a small or no voice but there are right and wrong ways of going about it. But at the same time, don’t treat anyone like they are a victim. Yes, bad things happen to a lot of people and a lot are a victim of crime in the moment – but don’t let anyone stay that way as a way of life.

Encourage everyone you meet.

Ask Holy Spirit to show you or tell you how He sees that person. Ask Him what He would like to say to the person through you. How can you show love and encouragement to that person, both in words and in action?

People are people everywhere, no matter where they come from. There are people who do fantastic things and people who make terrible choices. It doesn’t matter what colour they are, these things ring true all over the world.

Our job as Believers is to lift everyone up, not leave them in the victim lifestyle. It’s to love people no matter what. Yes, we are to set boundaries of course as you wouldn’t knowingly invite a thief into your house, but our first priority is to love God as Jesus does and love others as Jesus loves us (1 Jn 4:19).

Don’t segregate people.
Treat everyone with kindness.
Love them into greatness.

This is what Jesus did.

This is what you and me must do too.

God has an answer to every question and a solution for every problem.

He has one for your situation today and for everything else that you come across.

Let’s together seek Him and ask Him for the answers and solutions for what is going on in the world.

Do people know that you are one of Jesus’ disciples? I know this is a question I ask myself almost everyday.

John 13:35 says that if we love one another, THEN others will know that we are Jesus’ disciples.

Love with boundaries is the answer.

Love without boundaries enables but love with boundaries empowers.

Everyone needs Jesus and everyone needs to be loved … no matter who they are.

Everyone is capable of greatness, no matter how big or small.

Everyone is beautifully and wonderfully created.

Purpose and destiny was intentionally put inside every single person at their conception.

ALL LIFE MATTERS!

Let’s make ours count today.

I recognise this is a hot topic and I am not criticising anyone at all. On one hand people are fighting AGAINST segregation amongst races and on the other, some are fighting FOR segregation amongst the genders.
If there was ever a time to know what God thinks and says, it is now.
We must ask Him for His strategy for love but also for transformation – of first ourselves and then others.

Be a vessel for God’s love today.
You can do it because Jesus lives in you.
You too CAN make a difference!

Abundant blessings and love to you today.

(Photo Credit: www.pexels.com)