God's Global People
Scripture Reading — Colossians 3:1-11
Here there is no Greek or Jew … but Christ is all, and is in all.
Colossians 3:11
Some people are saying these days that the world is flat. With advances in communication technology, we now live in a global village. But if this is a global village, there’s a lot of fighting going on in the neighborhoods. Instant e-mails and text messaging don’t automatically create understanding. Ethnic prejudice and tribal tensions spawn hatred, violence, and outright warfare.
But there is one community whose very identity transcends these tensions. Jesus commissioned his disciples to take one gospel to the world and by that gospel to shape a single community of Christ-followers. As Paul puts it in terms of the people in his day, there is no Jew or Gentile. In Paul’s day, the Jewish community identified itself as the true people of God. Everyone else, even those who were civilized and cultured, were considered Gentiles, Greeks, barbarians. But Paul announces that Christ breaks through those walls of separation.
Living out this vision today means that Christians must not build walls where none should exist. The church of Christ is bigger than any congregation or denomination. You’ll find your discipleship enriched if you reach beyond your own small circles and connect with believers of different backgrounds and cultures.
What steps might you take to enlarge the circle of your Christian acquaintance?
Lord, our vision of the church is often narrow. Forgive us when cultural differences make us suspicious of fellow believers. Build us into a global community, we pray. Amen.
About the author — Bob Heerspink
Dr. Robert Heerspink was director of Back to God Ministries International from 2006 until 2011, when he passed away. He had previously pastored several Christian Reformed churches. Bob loved to write and was a frequent contributor to the Today devotional.
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