Listen

You used to live this way, when you were alive to these things. But now set aside these things, such as anger, rage, malice, slander, and obscene language. Don’t lie to each other. Take off the old human nature with its practices and put on the new nature, which is renewed in knowledge by conforming to the image of the one who created it. In this image there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all things and in all people.

Colossians 3:7-11

Think

We are FULL of differences these days. Differences in religion, politics, economics, academics, race, talents, geography. When you walk down the hall of your school or look across your classroom or church, you see differences. Difference is a gift. It is not a bad thing.

Sameness can be comforting, but sameness is not what God has made and what the writer of this letter and verse are nudging us to remember. The sameness is ONLY Jesus. It is the child of God, who came to earth, lived like us among people who were similar and different from him, and then who died then rose from the dead, whom we are like! We are like Jesus. We are similar to Jesus.

We have the ability to be with people different than us – to enjoy them, love them, help them, forgive them. We are like Jesus in that we can let go of the “list of bad things” every day – we can let go of rage, anger, gossip, profanity, cruelty… you name it. We are like Jesus. That is remarkable.

Gina Yeager-Buckley

Pray

O God, today I would like to “take off” the things that keep me separate from you. I want to take off the attitudes that say that “different” is bad. If I need “sameness” in my life, God, let it be the reminder that I – with everyone around me – am loved by you in the same way. Let it be that we are all are like you. Amen.

Go

Go – to put on love. To practice love. To offer the love that God gives to you to the world around you.