“We Are One In Christ!”

“We Are One In Christ!”
It is difficult to become a member of a different tribe and be regarded as one of them. Some of the members would always look at you with disdain and treat you as thrash. There are times you yourself would feel that you do not belong.
Each tribe has an appellation for non natives. In Mungaka we call other people, “ba tum” – meaning outsiders. Once you consider somebody as an outsider, it becomes difficult for you to actually accept that person as one of yours. You can allow the person to be close but not closer than necessary.
Such was the way Jews regarded Gentiles. Even when they made proselytes of Gentiles, the Gentiles were never fully integrated. The temple was divided in such a way that there was the court of the Gentiles and a court of the Jews. A Gentile dared not advance to the court of the Jews.
The death of Christ changed everything. The Gentiles, including us are now fully integrated as children of God. The blood of Christ has put an end to the religion of exclusion. God the Father of Jesus Christ is not exclusive to the Jews alone. Jesus Christ “has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations.” By this he has created “in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross by which he put to death their hostility”(Eph.2:11-16).
Once in Christ we are one. In Christ we are no longer what we were; we are now what we have become. There is no “ba tum” “ti bab” “nkehpi” “bajili” “nwakambo”, “cam no go,” etc! We are one through the circumcision of our hearts and not of our foreskins. We were once “far away, but we have been brought near through the blood of Christ.” Let us remain in him and do the works of righteousness, hungering for justice, standing for truth as a pathway to the peace that passes human understanding.
Weekend prayer: Holy Spirit guide me so that I remain under the grace of God in Jesus Christ. Amen!
Have a blessed weekend! Peace be with you!