Erin Campbell Naman

Galatians 3:23-29  

“Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed.  Therefore, the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith.  But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.  And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.”

Reflection

When faith came, through Jesus Christ, we were set free from the guardianship of the law.  Previously the law had been our guardian, or disciplinarian, to set us on the right path but once faith came, we no longer needed a guardian, we now have Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We are not justified by works, by following the law, but by faith in Christ.  And with that new faith, we are now all on the same playing field. Where before there had been “us” versus “them”, we are now all “us” as children of God.

Paul is telling us that we are all image-bearers and that no image-bearer of Christ is superior to another.  When Paul says there is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female there isn’t an “unless” or an “except for” in that sentence. We all bear the image of God. Likewise, as followers of Christ we are to see everyone as bearing the image of God. And to take it one step further, to treat everyone as bearing the image of God. There are no built-in exceptions. It’s not “we are all image bearers except those who are in the other political party” or “except those who don’t look like I do” or “unless they live lives of which I approve”. There are no exceptions. We are all one in Christ Jesus.

This would have been a seismic shift in ancient times, a highly structured hierarchical society. But more recent history would tell us this is something we still struggle with today. A quick view of Facebook on any given day is full of examples of God’s people not living this out. And I have to include myself in that category. If we are being honest with ourselves, we might find we are guilty of judging the neighbor with an opposing political sign in his yard; we might find we are guilty of feeling just slightly, or not so slightly, superior to those whose life choices we don’t agree with; we might all be guilty of having an “us” and “them” mentality. It’s a sign of our times, but we don’t have to live that way. What Paul is telling us is that there is no “us” and “them” – there is only “us”. Under Christ, we are all the same, we are all image-bearers. 

Imagine what the world would be like if instead of seeing the differences in everyone, we saw the face of Jesus. If instead of seeing someone’s political affiliation, we saw the image of Jesus. If instead of seeing someone’s skin color, we saw the image of Jesus. If instead of seeing someone’s life choices, we saw the image of Jesus. 

As Christians, that’s exactly what Paul is telling us we are called to do. Today may we be shown to see the person in front of us as the image of Jesus and the uniqueness that Jesus has imbued in that person. What a change the world would see if we truly lived as we were called to by Paul, as we were called to by the Holy Spirit working through Paul.

Prayer:

Lord, help us to see in our neighbor, not our differences but to see them as a beloved child of God.  Help us Lord to love as you loved, help us to love our neighbors as ourselves.  Help us to treat others as we would want to be treated.  And thank you God for making us one through you.  Amen.