Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own.
Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life emerges! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you. 2 Corinthians 5:14-20 The Message
Everything in this culture right now wants a person to judge a person on how they look, the color of their skin, or their hair, or clothing. “One Man died for everyone.” There is no racism in Christ. God looks on the heart of the individual. Those indwelled with the Holy Spirit now look at a person as the Spirit directs, giving them the reason God loves that person so much. Certainly we ALL need His grace and forgiveness for all of us have fallen short of the Glory of God. (Romans 3:23) God wants to have relationship with us, and the choice is given to us by Him through the very free will He has given every human being. But we HAVE TO CHOOSE Him. We are given many opportunities to choose Him throughout our day, allowing and deferring to the Holy Spirit to direct us and teach us.
But our flesh reacts from instinct, and from our childhood wounds, and upbringing, and taught / accumulated world view of things. When as those who should defer our reactions through the Holy Spirit’s direction — we should exercise the fruit of Self Control and respond as He directs us. It is through Him that we have the proper perspective towards individuals we encounter on a daily basis. We learn to love as He does when listening to the Holy Spirit. It is His fruit that should be what we offer to those around us (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control).
If you have accepted your death for His life to live within you, (this is what water baptism symbolizes) then you are His ambassadors, His messenger, His representative to this world. We persuade people of the Love of God and the sacrifice His Son Jesus made for us, and become living epistles of God as a witness for the world to see. We are on display to show His grace and mercy to the world, that He can take us (a very broken vessel) and redeem us and mend us with His glue (the Holy Spirit) making us a light in the darkness.
The divide is only getting more stark and obvious between His kingdom and outer darkness. I’m not talking religion here — I’m talking about those that actually ‘know Him’ and those that actively reject God and Jesus Christ — blaspheming Him at every opportunity, shaking their middle finger at Him. The evil has become more blatant and open in it’s pure desire to destroy and kill children and the most innocent. We must be infused with the Holy Spirit and directed by Him more and more as this world turns increasingly dangerous, dark, and mean.
My hearts cry and call is that you (who call yourself His) would know what it is to be filled with Him by the Holy Spirit. To actively live by the Holy Spirit throughout every part of your life and day. I so want you to learn what it is like to be ‘led by Him’ in every circumstance, as His Holy Spirit moves and teaches you mightily to be His message to the person you are encountering.
Invite Him to take charge of your day, today! Then listen well, with ears ready to hear His whisper to you.