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 3:28 (NIV)
All One
John George Diefenbaker, Canada’s 13th prime minister from 1957-63, was born in Neustadt, Ontario on September 18, 1895, and died on August 16, 1979 in Ottawa. An articulate speaker and supporter of civil rights, Diefenbaker was a passionate defense lawyer before he turned his attention to politics. During his campaigns, Diefenbaker called for “One Canada”, a united country, coast to coast, where everyone, no matter their religion, race, or region were all equal under one name as Canadians.
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Unity is such a blessing. Canadians understand this – so much of what we enjoy as Canadians is because of the unity we enjoy as a nation. That is why we were so on edge during the two Quebec referendums in the 20th century. If a nation understands the blessings of unity, so did the apostle Paul. He wrote this to the Christians in Galatia in Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Sin has destroyed unity on so many levels. The foundational separation is between our Creator and ourselves and because that relationship is broken, so are many relationships between human beings. Jesus came with the express purpose of removing the sin that separates. So Paul was able to say that now, because of what Jesus did on the Cross, nations and races are brought together and so are social classes and genders. Jesus came to bring about unity in our world. In a time when the division that sin brings is so evident – never in my life have I seen so much division and strife – we need Jesus’ unifying work more than ever.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley