A Distinctive Commonness!

We live in a world where people love to make distinctions between themselves and others. This may be between those who have much and those who have little, those highly educated and those without much education, those who are the givers and those who are the takers, distinctions between nationalities and even further cultural distinctions within them. And the list goes on. These distinctions are noted for a variety of reasons and perhaps we prefer placing ourselves in categories rather than having others do it. However, where the real discomfort may come is in the realization of those areas where we are distinctively the same! There are some likenesses not so easy to admit, but realities that cannot be ignored. Through the acknowledgement of our similarities (whether good or bad) we can better encourage one another in the right direction.

As Paul was well aware of the great distinction made between Jew and Gentile, he unmistakably declared the following distinctive commonness in his letter to the church at Rome.

“(22)… For there is NO DISTINCTION: (23) for ALL HAVE SINNED AND FALL SHORT of the glory of God, (24) and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” ( Romans 3:22b-24 ESV)

The encouragement we have in relation to this common dilemma is the fact there is a common solution and that is found in Christ Jesus. As Christians we should be able to honestly acknowledge where we have been and rejoice in Jesus having satisfied the justice of God by giving Himself for our sins. With this in mind we can humbly help others come to understand we can relate to their struggle because it is common to all mankind and the GOOD NEWS is Jesus is the solution for us all! With Jesus as the solution it makes no difference with regard to economic, social, or racial status. (note Galatians 3:27-28)

Though we are to live different from the world, our need for the forgiveness in Christ remains. We still struggle with falling short of the glory of God. We are still in the process of becoming what God wants us to be. Praise God that as we continue in the relationship the power of Jesus’ blood continues to work in our life. ( 1 John 1:7) May we continue to hold out the GOOD NEWS of Jesus as it relates to the distinctive commonness of sin’s universal dilemma and God’s universal solution in Christ Jesus ( John 14:6; Acts 4:11-12) as the adequate means of the forgiveness of sin and the salvation of the soul.

Have a great day DISTINCTIVELY LIVING THANKFUL TO CHRIST!
Carl

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