"The Inescapable Network of Mutuality": On Children of God and MLK (Galatians 3)
So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. -Galatians 3:26-29
I'm not going to lie: I do not treat people equally. I do not love people equally. I struggle with understanding and accepting people who are different from me.
I'm not proud of it. I'm not going to cover it up, though, because that simply aggravates the problem.
For years, I've adored knowing that I am a child of God. My broken, lonely heart took comfort in a God that not only loves me, but chose me and adopted me. Christ does not reject; Christ envelopes. Is there a better truth than that? I don't think so.
Here's the thing, though: I'm not God's only daughter, but it's easy for me to forget about the other children. My life is so easy in comparison to those around the world, and I so often forget that. Sometimes, in my heart of hearts, I start to think that doesn't matter, but it does. Those people belong to Jesus as well, and therefore we are all one. My apathy adds to the injustice.
It's easy for me to forget the other children, and it's easy to avoid the other children. The ones who have cultures I don't really understand and might not be comfortable with. The ones who are really awkward. The ones who have different theology than I do. The ones that speak different languages and dress in different ways and force me to contemplate life outside of my white suburban existence. My ignorance and evasiveness add to the injustice.
Luckily, though, I'm not the only human on the planet, and some of the ones that came before us are far less selfish than I. As I sit here reflecting on Galatians 3, I cannot help but reflect as well--especially today--on Martin Luther King, Jr. Now that's a man who understood unity.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," King writes in his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." "We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."
I can't help but be struck with the truth of those words tonight. If we all belong to Christ, if we are all God's children and His heirs, then we truly are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, and it's important to love and support one another -- no matter what differences may seek to pry us apart.
I'm thankful tonight for the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Junior. I'm thankful for a man who truly believed that there was no Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female, for we are we are all one in Christ Jesus. I'm thankful for a man that stated that "We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools," and that "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." I'm thankful tonight for the freedom we have in Christ, and a man who fought to see that freedom spread throughout a nation, throughout churches, and throughout people. And I'm challenged, tonight, to live out that freedom-for me, and for all my fellow children of God through faith.
"When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every tenement and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old spiritual, 'Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last." -Martin Luther King Jr., "I Have a Dream" speech
What about you? Do you think we still struggle in our country with the way we treat our brothers and sisters? Why or why not? What legacy of Dr. King's do you value the most? Any favorite quotes? Feel free to share below!
I'm not going to lie: I do not treat people equally. I do not love people equally. I struggle with understanding and accepting people who are different from me.
I'm not proud of it. I'm not going to cover it up, though, because that simply aggravates the problem.
For years, I've adored knowing that I am a child of God. My broken, lonely heart took comfort in a God that not only loves me, but chose me and adopted me. Christ does not reject; Christ envelopes. Is there a better truth than that? I don't think so.
Here's the thing, though: I'm not God's only daughter, but it's easy for me to forget about the other children. My life is so easy in comparison to those around the world, and I so often forget that. Sometimes, in my heart of hearts, I start to think that doesn't matter, but it does. Those people belong to Jesus as well, and therefore we are all one. My apathy adds to the injustice.
It's easy for me to forget the other children, and it's easy to avoid the other children. The ones who have cultures I don't really understand and might not be comfortable with. The ones who are really awkward. The ones who have different theology than I do. The ones that speak different languages and dress in different ways and force me to contemplate life outside of my white suburban existence. My ignorance and evasiveness add to the injustice.
Luckily, though, I'm not the only human on the planet, and some of the ones that came before us are far less selfish than I. As I sit here reflecting on Galatians 3, I cannot help but reflect as well--especially today--on Martin Luther King, Jr. Now that's a man who understood unity.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," King writes in his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." "We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."
I can't help but be struck with the truth of those words tonight. If we all belong to Christ, if we are all God's children and His heirs, then we truly are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, and it's important to love and support one another -- no matter what differences may seek to pry us apart.
I'm thankful tonight for the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Junior. I'm thankful for a man who truly believed that there was no Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female, for we are we are all one in Christ Jesus. I'm thankful for a man that stated that "We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools," and that "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." I'm thankful tonight for the freedom we have in Christ, and a man who fought to see that freedom spread throughout a nation, throughout churches, and throughout people. And I'm challenged, tonight, to live out that freedom-for me, and for all my fellow children of God through faith.
"When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every tenement and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old spiritual, 'Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last." -Martin Luther King Jr., "I Have a Dream" speech
What about you? Do you think we still struggle in our country with the way we treat our brothers and sisters? Why or why not? What legacy of Dr. King's do you value the most? Any favorite quotes? Feel free to share below!
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