But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. John 1:12-13
When Stevie was 5, neighborhood bullies roughed him up. His older sister marched down the street to show them a thing or two—and came home with a black eye.
Family ties are strong. We’re more than willing to right a wrong that’s been done to someone we love. If you’re a follower of Jesus, this should be true—most true of all, about your relationships with other followers of Jesus. But do we really think of all other Jesus followers as our brothers or sisters? We look different. We come from different cultural backgrounds and have all kinds of different experiences.
Consider this: Scripture says, we are all made in God’s image, “children of the same Father and … created by the same God” (Malachi 2:10a). The great equalizer is this: we all sin and “fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 2:23). But those who have believed God about Jesus, the Bible says, have “the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). So, if you’re a Jesus follower, you and everyone else who follows Him are His children. You’ve got family all over this globe!
Do you hurt with Jesus-followers who are in pain? You can’t fight every injustice in the world. But, when you realize that we are one body, that we have one Father, that we have one faith, then all who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ lay aside their ethnic identity and their culture to become brothers and sisters, belonging to each other.
Look around today: Is there a brother or sister who needs you stand up for them? Maybe. you’ll get a black eye if you come to their defense, but black eyes heal up just fine.
