“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.” (Galatians 3:26-28 ESV) 

Before I became a Christian, I was raised in a home full of prejudices of every kind against those who were of a different nationality, race, social status, and even church denominations!

Anyone who was different in any way from my family was to be judged as somehow unacceptable. As an adult, I continued to see this same warped way of viewing those who might be different in any way. Neighbors who looked down on other neighbors, family members refusing to accept other family members, nations hating other nations, etc. 

When I became a Christian and invited Jesus Christ to come and dwell within me through the Holy Spirit, something truly unique and miraculous happened. I began to see other people through the eyes of Jesus and began to experience more and more His love for them. Even more impressive was the way other Christians became precious to me as I began to see, not differences in us, but Jesus in them. 

The world continues to separate and vilify. Yet from time to time the world will encourage us to be more accepting of those who are different than we are, and some will try harder to be more caring and less judgmental. 

As Christians, Jesus is asking much more of us!  He is asking for a heart change!

There has always been and continues to be only one lasting remedy for prejudice and intolerance.  As Jesus comes to dwell within our hearts, He changes our hearts and our vision. This may seem impossible and it is a miracle that only Jesus can perform! 

Let us, as Christians ask Jesus to continue to do what only He can do; transform our hearts so that we will extend grace and the love of Jesus to all who are around us and bring about change that lasts for eternity.

Let us continue to rejoice in the miracle that as believers, we are all one in Christ!

Jackie Rettberg served as the President of Newim (2009-2016)