For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13 NLT
Have you noticed how we humans like to separate things? First, we refer to ourselves as the human race, distinguishing between us and other living things. Then we further divide it into race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, place of origin, nationality, political affiliation, religion, height, and weight–the list is endless. We split and categorize until, at last, as individuals, we are identified by these labels of separation.
Today's verse puts all that aside with the word EVERYONE. The term is inclusive, leaving out no one. We also encounter it in the most quoted verse of the Bible, John 3:16, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."
This inclusivity was God's plan for humankind from the opening pages of the Bible. Separation (sin) came with the first bite of the fruit. In taking on human flesh, God came to heal the rift of separation between him and us and each other. As believers, we become united with a single label, God's children. All those human-created labels of distinction are irrelevant.
In accepting Christ, there is a distinction–we become a people apart. While our bodies physically reside on this earth, our souls are transformed. There's a change of focus from earthly labels to things of heavenly importance. We strive for perfection, becoming pure and holy, as our example Jesus Christ, and as his disciples, we open our hearts in love to everyone–no labels, no exclusions.
God of Everyone, we thank you for your continued grace towards us. We confess we are guilty of thinking in terms of separation. In attaching labels, we exercise biases and make judgments. Forgive us; we pray. Help us to remember you are an inclusive God who assumed human form and died for all of us. May our lives reflect that same love to all. We pray in the name of Jesus, our Redeemer and Intercessor. Amen.
Blessings,
Pastor Tim
