Pause

We are all called to be followers of Christ. Being a follower brings wonder and insight, comfort and peace, but it also brings challenges and encourages us to see the world in new and startling ways.

Following is a daily decision to join our risen Lord on the path to which we are invited. It is a decision to open ourselves to both the wonder and the challenge.

Now is the time to decide. A new, startling view of the world awaits.

Listen

Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.

Galatians 3:23-29

Think

We are all one in Christ. What a powerful statement! We are clothed in Christ. Being a follower of Christ becomes more powerful than any of our differences. Being a follower of Christ focuses on the love between us, the love that comes through Christ. It is not always easy to love someone who is different from us; it can be complicated to get along and pretend like differences do not exist. But we aren’t supposed to pretend that differences don’t exist. We need to embrace our differences and see how the love we share in Christ is more powerful that any social distinctions we construct.

Being one in Christ does not simply make everyone friends, but being clothed in Christ is a foundation we can build on. It becomes an all-encompassing commonality that helps us to respect and appreciate the ways in which we are different. Seeing another person and yourself as one in Christ can drastically change how you understand, treat, care for, and love them.

Jenny Clamon

Pray

God, you have made us all one in Christ. Help me to see and treat others in a way which reflects that awesome truth. Amen.

Go

Following means commitment to a way that is sometime clear,
And sometimes vague.
There is no assurance that you will always know certainty,
But you will surely know this:

The One you follow will always be with you,
Just ahead of you, offering in every moment,
In darkness and in light,
The invitation.