So you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have been made like him. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. For you are all Christians—you are one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and now all the promises God gave to him belong to you.
Galatians 3:26-29
There is something unique about confinement. I recently saw it when I visited the prison. In the devotion for today (Upper Room – 11/7/05) we hear about the same thing I observed in the prison. When we are forced to spend time together we find that deep down, we are not all that different. Those differences are even less apparent when we are filled with the Spirit of God and His love blows us over like “a mighty windstorm in the skies” – (Acts 2:2). Yes, by the way, there was diversity at Pentecost.
Have you ever heard a report from the believer returning from a mission trip? Same thing … when those who are different are embraced with the love of Jesus Christ, lives are forever changed. More often than not, it is the missionary who is most overwhelmed by the oneness of Spirit.
Why shouldn’t we embrace diversity in our every day lives, not just in prison ministry, nursing homes or on the mission field? The same Spirit is at work in our neighborhoods, our work places, our schools and our churches. If we would allow the Spirit to work in and through us, our differences will disappear within the family of God … the Body of Christ. “For you are all Christians—you are one in Christ Jesus” – Gal. 3:28.
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