Unity in Christ
Bible Devotional
Galatians 3:28 (NLT)
There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.
What can help us become united as one?
My mother, who was born in the middle of Japanese occupation and witnessed with her own eyes the trauma of her father and the destruction of the Korean people at the hands of the Japanese soldiers, sat next to a Japanese person. She squeezed my hand at first, and then gradually let go. During the Japanese occupation of Korea, the Korean people were forced to speak Japanese. If they spoke Korean in front of the Japanese, then they would get beaten up, and some would be thrown in jail. Korean had to speak, write, and follow the Japanese culture. They had no choice.
I was shocked that my mother still knew how to speak Japanese. She spoke in a soft and gentle voice to the Japanese man. You can tell the man was a bit tense, knowing the history between Japan and Korea and how many Koreans disdain the Japanese people for what they have done. But my mother was kind and gentle and spoke words of comfort to the Japanese man. You could tell he was at ease, and for the next 14-hour flight, it was one of the most pleasant for my mother and the Japanese fellow.
Later, after we landed in Seoul, I asked my mother, why were you so much at peace? Were you not still angry at what the Japanese soldiers did to grandpa? She said, “God has forgiven me for my sins; how could I not forgive the Japanese government and the people?” She said, “The blood of Jesus goes across all people and nations.” And she said something that really stuck in my head. She said, “I am a Christian first, before I am a Korean. I follow Christ above all else.”
Ephesians 2:18 (NLT)
Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.
No sinner has any right or worthiness in himself for access to God, but believers have been granted that privilege and right through faith in Jesus. You have access to the Court of the Priests through Jesus Christ, and into the Holy of Holies. But here’s the great news: there is no sign that says, "You cannot come in," but you are welcome to enter the presence of God.
The walls have been torn down so that you can have access to God.
Hebrews 4:16 (NLT)
So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.
What can help us become united as one?
My mother, who was born in the middle of Japanese occupation and witnessed with her own eyes the trauma of her father and the destruction of the Korean people at the hands of the Japanese soldiers, sat next to a Japanese person. She squeezed my hand at first, and then gradually let go. During the Japanese occupation of Korea, the Korean people were forced to speak Japanese. If they spoke Korean in front of the Japanese, then they would get beaten up, and some would be thrown in jail. Korean had to speak, write, and follow the Japanese culture. They had no choice.
I was shocked that my mother still knew how to speak Japanese. She spoke in a soft and gentle voice to the Japanese man. You can tell the man was a bit tense, knowing the history between Japan and Korea and how many Koreans disdain the Japanese people for what they have done. But my mother was kind and gentle and spoke words of comfort to the Japanese man. You could tell he was at ease, and for the next 14-hour flight, it was one of the most pleasant for my mother and the Japanese fellow.
Later, after we landed in Seoul, I asked my mother, why were you so much at peace? Were you not still angry at what the Japanese soldiers did to grandpa? She said, “God has forgiven me for my sins; how could I not forgive the Japanese government and the people?” She said, “The blood of Jesus goes across all people and nations.” And she said something that really stuck in my head. She said, “I am a Christian first, before I am a Korean. I follow Christ above all else.”
Ephesians 2:18 (NLT)
Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.
No sinner has any right or worthiness in himself for access to God, but believers have been granted that privilege and right through faith in Jesus. You have access to the Court of the Priests through Jesus Christ, and into the Holy of Holies. But here’s the great news: there is no sign that says, "You cannot come in," but you are welcome to enter the presence of God.
The walls have been torn down so that you can have access to God.
Hebrews 4:16 (NLT)
So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
Posted in Weekly Devotional