No Room for Racism

Colossians 3:10-11 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.

In II Corinthians 5:16-17 we are told that in Christ we are new creatures, and that we no longer view anyone, including God, from a human viewpoint. That means that our opinions about who God is, and who people are, must be renewed (Romans 12), and must now view everyone from a heavenly point of view, as that is our new home as born again believers. I say all that to say this, as Christians in the local church or as the universal church (in Christ) there is absolutely no room for racism. Once we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior, we have been adopted into God's family, and we are now brothers, and sisters, in Christ. This does not mean that we no longer have an identity based on our ethnic background. On the contrary, it is an opportunity for us to truly enjoy our differences, and praise God for His diversity, and how uniquely He created each of us. However, whatever prejudices we have been taught about others, based on their background, education, where they come from or skin color, must go away, and we are to put on the "new man" who is compassionate, kind, humble, patient, and above all...loving toward others. At the Cross of Jesus, the only thing that exists to God, and should to us, is a family of born again believers called Christians. Let us enjoy, and learn from, each other's differences in personalities, and cultures. Let us learn how to put our differences aside, be of one mind, and praise and worship God as one people. Our differences, working together, can help us reach people that we otherwise would have no idea how to reach, as we learn about customs, and ways, that we can use to our advantage in building a bond with those who God created differently than us. The bottom line is that no matter how different we may appear to each other, we were ALL created in the image of God in our ability to think, reason, and feel. The Word tells us that we cannot hate our brother, and then claim that we love God, in whose image we are all made.