One verse keeps going over and over in my mind this morning. It has to do with our position in Christ.
“Peter began to speak: ‘I really understand now that God does not consider some people to be better than others:’” Acts 10:34 ERV
This verse should bring a real sense of peace and encouragement to each and every one of us. Perhaps you are someone who grew up battling low self-esteem. You weren’t the prettiest or the smartest or the best athlete or the richest or the most blah, blah, blah…Whatever and whoever, you were just never the best.
Or maybe you lived on the other end of the spectrum and had always felt that you were one of the elite; the special, the ones that everyone wanted to be like – you were all that and a bag of chips!
But how does God see you? Yesterday I used these verses but they bear repeating.
“You were all baptized into Christ, and so you were all clothed with Christ. This shows that you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 28 Now, in Christ, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or free, male or female. You are all the same in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:27-28 ERV
Rich or poor, educated or uneducated, man or woman, free or enslaved, high society or from the wrong side of the tracks, none of this matters; what matters is that you are in Christ! Don’t be held back in your walk with the Lord thinking that others are better, more spiritual, more acceptable to God or that they are less than you. God’s love is the same to all. Even before we accept Him, He loved us.
“But Christ died for us while we were still sinners, and by this God showed how much he loves us.” Romans 5:8 ERV
Jesus loved the lowly as much as He loved the highly esteemed in society. He came to bring life to the leper and the Pharisee, the harlot and the lawyer. The difference was their opinion of themselves and their willingness to ask for and receive salvation.
Nicodemus, a high ranking religious leader, came to Jesus by night. Coming by day, he might be seen. “What will the neighbors think? What about the guys at the club?” It was to this man, Nicodemus, that Jesus said you must be born again. You must be born from the Spirit and then Jesus spoke to him of God’s amazing love.
“Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him would not be lost but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world. He did not send him to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through him. 18 People who believe in God’s Son are not judged guilty. But people who do not believe are already judged, because they have not believed in God’s only Son. 19 They are judged by this fact: The light has come into the world. But they did not want light. They wanted darkness, because they were doing evil things. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light. They will not come to the light, because the light will show all the bad things they have done. 21 But anyone who follows the true way comes to the light. Then the light will show that whatever they have done was done through God.” John 3:16-21 ERV
Today, make it a point to let God show His love to you and through you!