GALATIANS 3:26-28
So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
TO PONDER
When I moved to Canada in 1997 I did it as a born and bred Australian Citizen, with all the rights and privileges afforded to me by my Australian Birth Certificate and passport, after a certain amount of time, money and lots of paperwork I was approved for the status of a card carrying “Permanent Resident” allowing me most of the rights of a Canadian but there were strict laws I was required to abide with to keep that status.
After 16 years of living in the oft’ frozen land of Maple Syrup and polar bears, I was granted Canadian Citizenship on the 1st of April 2014 as I swore allegiance to the “True North strong and free” Canada and reaffirmed my allegiance to the Queen.
My identity was changed on April Fools’ Day 2014 and I have the Canadian Citizenship Certificate and passport to prove it, with full rights and privileges of my new Country.
Today’s verses remind us that we now have a new identity because of Jesus, we now have the full rights and privileges of God’s children, we are fully accepted citizens of His Kingdom. Our Citizenship Certificate is the death of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection, our passport, proof to others of that citizenship, our baptism, and unlike my Canadian citizenship, it cost us nothing.
Within months of becoming Canadian I crossed the border into the U.S. with my obviously heavy un-Canadian bogan accent, proudly dressed as a Canadian clothed in my Canadian Citizenship Certificate allowing me entry as a Canadian by the proof of my Canadian Passport.
PRAYER: Almighty God, I thank you for my citizenship in your Kingdom through the death and resurrection of the Son, help me share the message of that Kingdom to others. Amen
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside