June 17, 2020
“For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,…”Romans 10:12
For ten years I went on a mission trip to different areas of the southeast. I took a group of adults and youth to World Changers. We started off in Savannah, Georgia and went as far west as Illinois. We would spend a week with 10-12 stranger except for maybe one or two and work on a house. We would reroof houses. Paint house. Put on siding. Build ramps. Fix bathroom floors. I was in Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Mississippi and Illinois. We met people from different states and worked with people from all over the US. It was a mixture of all kinds of people. I even had a young girl on one of my crews who was from Germany. Those were fun times and I miss them. I realized after a few summers it was not the town where we were Changing the World. It was the young people who were learning how to share Christ in a practical way that would eventually change the world.
Our world needs changing now more than ever. If you are reading this devotion and find yourself thinking that you are better off than anyone you are in need of a change. You may be more blessed than some people. You may be smarter than some people. You may have had more of an opportunity than some people, but you are not better than anyone. We are all the same. We need God and we need each other. There is a reason Jesus’ two most important commandments when asked were Love God and Love People. He said it was more important than anything else spoken by all the prophets.
Why can’t we get it right? Why do we want to make a difference because we don’t agree with someone? Why do we want to make a big deal that we are a different color? Why do we want to look our nose down on someone who is homeless or struggling or on drugs or is of a different political persuasion than we are? Why don’t we just love others as Jesus loved us? He didn’t differentiate in specifics. He just loved!
Today’s world is spinning out of control. We are scared, demanding our rights, calling others names (if not out loud in our mind), and saying somebody should do something about it. Well maybe God wants you and I to do something about it. Maybe we should pray and ask God to cure us of our prejudice and “Treat everyone as we want to be treated.” I can’t make others do it, but I can start doing it myself. Maybe it will be catching. Maybe we need to read Romans 10:12 in the language of our day, “For there is no difference between black and white – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him.”
Dear Father, forgive us your children of not complying with your Holy Word. Forgive us for being led astray by our heritage. Give us liberty to be children of God before we are children of any region of our birth. Help us to uphold your love and compassion for all mankind. Help us to remember the words of the song we sang as children. “Jesus loves the little children. All the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.” Help us remember that when children grow up to be adults the words do not change. Help us to be more about loving than demanding our rights. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
Comments