There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise. - Galatians 3:28-29
As a Pharisee, Paul persecuted those who followed Christ. In his own words, Paul was a Jew, circumcised the eighth day according to the law and zealous for that same law in every way. Anyone who was not a descendant of Abraham through Isaac was a Gentile, an "other." By deduction, Paul was therefore (before he met his Lord and Master on the road to Damascus) a racist, but even more than that, Paul was an "other-ist," and (if you are honest), so are you.
Though it may be difficult to admit, we all have within us various levels of comfort when it comes to "others." Some of our "others" look different. Some speak different. Some just act or behave different. Legitimately (and may I say, honestly), anyone who looks, speaks, or acts different from us is an "other," and when we feel uncomfortable (or worse, superior) around them, then we, like the pre-conversion Paul, become an "other-ist."
So, how do we overcome our "other-ist" tendencies? In Christ, of course. While those who without Christ often see those of us who are in Christ as "others," it was Paul (an apostle of this same Jesus Christ) who once extolled the dissolution of racial, societal, and sexual superiority in Him! Every believer's heritage rests not in the color of his skin, the social circle in which he travels, nor the gender given by their Creator. In Christ, we are all heirs according to a promise, a promise reserved for those who believe.
The ground is truly and absolutely level at the Cross, but we all have to stand there to know it.
The work of community, love, reconciliation, restoration is the work we cannot leave up to politicians. This is the work we are all called to do. - Shane Claiborne
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