For the Scripture says,
No one who believes in him will be put to shame.
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek;
the same Lord is Lord of all,
enriching all who call upon him.
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Rom 10:11-13)
There is no distinction between Jew and Greek.
Did we all get that?
It is a pretty radical concept.
After all, the people around the time of the Lord divided the world into two basic groups: Jews and Gentiles or — even more clearly — Jews and everybody else.
If you were a Jew, you counted. You were a member of the chosen people. You were going to be rewarded.
If you were not a Jew, well, forget you.
It was a hard message for the people to hear, that ALL people mattered, whether they were Jew or Gentile, slave or free, young or old.
That message is still a hard message for people to hear since we still divide our world into those who count and everybody else.
Our distinctions are very personal. For some, it might be race. Others, politics. Still others, sexual persuasion. Whatever the case, we believe one group “counts” and the other one doesn’t.
We have to drop that mindset and remind ourselves that ALL people matter because ALL people comprise the family of God. God is the God of ALL, not of some. We need to treat ALL people as our brothers and sisters.
FAITH ACTION: Are there people in our lives whom we exclude for any number of reasons? Make an attempt to include them all — at least in prayer — this day.