Be One Seed

Galatians 3:28-29 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
 
HERE is a picture of the ideal church. You could say Paul gave the Galatian churches a vision statement of who they were to be under the Lord’s saving faith. He was calling people whose cultures deeply separated them to come together as new people in Jesus Christ.  
    Consider some differences. The Jews’ laws even commanded they keep separate from Gentiles. And the temple was constructed with a Gentile court and dividing wall to separate the two groups. You can imagine how challenging it would be for each group to say, “We are one. You are my brother, my sister in Christ.”
    The same would be true for slaves and women in the church. Again there was a separate women’s court for Jewish women in the temple. They had no voice in the synagogue. The Jews and Gentiles lived in a strong male-dominated culture. Women were second-class citizens at best. And can you imagine what it would be for slave owners to welcome a slave into a church’s community? Slaves were essentially non-persons, only property for the master’s use. When we read “For you are all one in Christ Jesus.” we must know this was a great challenge for all to join together into a church.
    Sadly, the church continues to be divided. Culture, race, economics, worship styles, preaching preferences, denomination allegiances and countless selfish considerations divide Christians. This is not God’s will. The church must understand Jesus’ teaching: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall.” (Luke 11:17)
    What do we do about it? Perhaps there are some answers in Paul’s affirmation you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
    There is a twofold responsibility as Abraham’s seed. Frist, as we are saved by faith into Abraham’s faith, we must submit to this truth and humbly understand God’s grace to save people of all nations into his church. God gave us the eternal gift to join with people of the world forever into God’s Kingdom. God has promised. He has caused our faith to become the gracious truth of our lives. As we understand this, let’s have a joyful, gracious mindset all Christians are people fulfilling God’s promise to Abraham. Hallelujah!
    The second responsibility is in being Abraham’s seed. What is a seed? It is the genetics of a particular plant. When it is planted and nurtured, a new plant comes to life. This must be the way of our faith. We are to be seeds of new life, planting God’s Word to grow new believers into his church. Our “seed” can be words of unity, grace and peace. In the church we can stop labeling other denominations with divisive words. Instead, we can plant seeds of unity with cooperative and gracious language: “Each confessing Christian is my brother and sister.” We can pray, “I pray for each church to know and love God. Lord, forgive any way I promote separation from others. Teach me to be in unity with all believers. May we all work together to show the world how wonderful it is to be one in Christ. Amen.”