“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.” – Romans 3:10

 

Right now, in the United States and all over the world, people are waging wars against their fellow human beings just because they are from a different country or they have different colored skin. Such factors as where you are from or what language you speak can influence somebody enough to make them want to cause you physical harm. That is not what God ever intended.

 

If you think that you are better than someone else, think again. We are all children of the same God. We all have the same ingrained desire to love and to have purpose. We all bleed the same color of blood. However, that blood gets spilled every day somewhere in the world because two people can’t see eye to eye. Whether it’s due to low self esteem or whatever the reason is, humans have a nasty tendency to point out faults in others just to make themselves feel better or to allow themselves some sort of higher society status.

 

In Luke, Chapter 18, Jesus told a story about two people who went to the temple to pray. One was a religious leader and another was a tax collector. The religious leader said, “Thanks God for not letting me be like other men.” He then went on talking about how other people were so bad and how he gives so much to the church, all in the interest of making himself feel like such a big deal. Oh, how important he thought he was to God.

 

However, in the temple was the other man, the tax collector, who was despised for his corruption and wicked ways. That man started crying and beating his chest in sorrow, saying, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” He wouldn’t even look up to Heaven because of how repentant he was for his actions.

 

So, who do you think was saved? Here’s a hint, it wasn’t the guy who thought he was all high and mighty. Granted, everyone wants to feel good about themselves, and they should. So should you, but we all need to recognize that we have a long way to go until we are free of our unrighteousness. Through the precious blood of Jesus Christ, we are cleansed of our sins. All of our wrongs are forgiven, but that doesn’t mean that we are immune to the temptations any longer, we just aren’t a subject to them anymore. We still have those bad thoughts that invade us now and again. We still find ourselves fighting against the weakness of the flesh. And that isn’t just a person of one nationality or one race; that is everyone. We all need the same help no matter who you are.

 

The best approach to life and our dealings with our fellow human is to see the best in others and to see the worst in ourselves. We are all sinners who are in need of saving. Just because I am from a different social standing doesn’t mean that God loves me any more than you. There are no political party lines drawn in Heaven. In the end, when time gives way to eternity, you and I will be in Heaven or Hell, period. There is no getting around that and it didn’t have anything to do with what side of the railroad tracks you lived on while you were on Earth. It has everything to do with the love of God. That makes all the difference. It’s not earned and it’s not because we are a certain color or race. God loves us because we are all His children.

 

Next time you are tempted to think poorly of someone for a mistake they made or something that they were born with and had no control over, please think about Jesus. Our Lord didn’t hang on the cross and point at a select few people in the crowd that He was dying for, He was crucified for everyone. Our job is to accept what He did and to realize that we are all sinners in need of His saving grace. John 6:37 is comforting in that Jesus says “he that comes to me I will in no wise cast out.” That was a promise given with no certain stipulations or other fine print. Again we read about that in Romans 10:13, “ For whosoever shall call on the Lord will be saved.”

 

God sacrificed His only Son on a cross for us. Until we all put aside our differences and accept that Holy sacrifice, we shall continue to sacrifice ourselves and our children on the battlefield until there’s nothing left.

 

God’s blessings to you.

DH