Galatians 3:27 As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 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. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise. 

I’m struck this morning by the inclusive nature of the gospel. The promise of adoption as a child of God is open to all people everywhere through faith in Jesus Christ. While the categories mentioned in this passage would have blown the minds of the original readers in Galatia, my mind also goes to the kinds of people Jesus himself invited to be his followers.

Jesus befriended crooks and prostitutes, lepers and demon-possessed people, the cast-offs, the rejects, the kinds of people “nice folks” did not associate with. As a Christian I am challenged by this. Does my life reflect the kind of radical inclusiveness Jesus demonstrated in his earthly lifetime? Where are my prejudices getting in the way of what the Lord wants to do through me? Lord give me grace to open my heart, mind, and soul to all people as you did. Amen.