"Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Don’t threaten them; remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites." Ephesians 6:9
If you're like me you probably have a favorite running shirt. You know, the that one that fits so well you grab for it time and again (when it's not in the laundry for the third time this week) dreading the day it wears out completely. As runners we have lots of favorite things don't we? A favorite water bottle, a favorite brand of shoe, a favorite race and maybe even a favorite running song. But the Bible tells us that, when it comes to people, God doesn't have any favorites and neither should we.In Paul's letter to Philemon he wrote, "Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Don't threaten them; remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites." He was reminding Philemon that, although he was the master of his slave, Onesimus, they were equal because they were brothers in Christ. It served as a message then and should serve as a message now that we should not "play favorites" by treating people differently based on their level in earthly society. Paul was saying that whether a person was rich or poor, slave or free didn't matter. What mattered was that we had "the same Master"and were no more important than anyone else.
I wonder how many of us can say that we treat people that way though? Equally? As Christians, the best way to share the message is to be the message. And the message is this... Jesus loves you and He loves me, not for anything we did or any status we acquired but because we are his children. If you or I had been the only person on the face of this earth, he would still have taken our place on that cross. And if you and I are that important to him, we should be that important to one another.
Heavenly Father, thank you for loving us not based on what we have accomplished or acquired in this life but because we are your children. Help us to love others without prejudice or pretense that we might be the Message to them and that we might, by that love shown, prompt them to accept you as Lord of their life. It's in your precious name we pray, Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!!!
www.team413.org
How He loves us - David Crowder
No comments:
Post a Comment