The Grace Card

As I ponder the grace of God in Jesus and it's implications in the lives of people from every tribe tongue and nation, I find that two of the most profound consequences of this grace is forgiveness and unity. Not just vertically but horizontally. There is redemption of the broken relationship between God and man, and then there is redemption between men.

In Colossians 3:11 Paul makes an outlandish statement saying:

"Here (in Christ) there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all."

Paul is assserting that the divisions that exist because of racial, cultural, and even social divergences are removed by faith in Christ.

Re: this verse, the commentary in the ESV Study Bible goes on to explain that[paraphrased]- There are no status distinctions among the new covenant people of God. No one has a special claim on God or is treated with less dignity than any other. Highlighting The Scythians as violent, uneducated, uncivilized, and altogether inferior people (according to Greeks), Paul here makes the point that in contrast to such discrimination and prejudice against other races, and cultures, Jesus binds all Christians together in equality, irrespective of such differences.

Unfortunately, just like the ancient believers at Colossae, Christians today need a primer on what it means to be reconciled w/ God and placed in Christ. I have a couple of friends who will be featured in a movie due out next Friday entitled "The Grace Card" that is sure to point in that direction.

The film features a policeman "Mac" who loses his son in an accident, which ultimately leaves him angry with God ... and just about everyone else. Mac's rage stonewalls his career in the police department and then he's partnered with Sam Wright, a rising star on the force who happens to be a part-time pastor and a loving family man. The plot of the movie has an underlying tone of how God's grace overcomes not only their difference of worldview but also the obvious difference between their race. Sure to be a great film the movie encourages viewers to never underestimate the power of God's love.

I encourage you to watch the trailer below and plan on seeing the movie next Friday when it's released in theaters nationwide. But more importantly be encouraged to walk in love and unity as a redeemed sinner joint to Christ -and all His people- by faith.