Jeremiah 30:1-31:26 / 1 Timothy 2 / Psalm 87 / Proverbs 25:18-19
If you think women are treated without respect or dignity at times, that’s true. However, Jesus showed an example of the heart of the Father toward women in that He had several women who were part of the company of His disciples. They were shown the same care and concern as the male disciples. Jesus even stopped to speak with a Samaritan woman at a well, something that Jewish men usually did not do.
The bottom line is that Jesus didn’t look at whether one was male or female before deciding on that person’s value in His Kingdom. Galatians 3:28-29 TPT further shows us God’s view of all people.
And we no longer see each other in our former state—Jew or non-Jew, rich or poor, male or female—because we’re all one through our union with Jesus Christ. And if you belong to Christ, then you are now Abraham’s “child” and a true heir of all his blessings because of the promise God made to Abraham!
Only through our relationship with Jesus Christ are we made the same in God’s eyes. We are now Kingdom people and heirs of all God has. It seems that Jesus is the great equalizer. And if He looks at us all the same, we should also view each other with equality.
I believe part of that reasoning is because we are now spirit beings, so we are viewed first from that perspective instead of from external perspectives. What if we treated one another according to a heavenly perspective instead of based on how much money we make, or what job we have, or how much education we have acquired, or our gender, or our past, etc.?
I also don’t believe we should evaluate one another based on spiritual gifting or position in the church, or even by the numbers of years we’ve been connected with Jesus Christ. This perspective is informed by the parable on the vineyard workers from Matthew 20:1-16. Throughout the day the owner hired workers, paying them the same wage whether they were hired early in the day or late in the day.
The ones hired early in the day were upset that those hired later in the day received the same wages, but the owner asked them why they were upset when they were paid the agreed upon price. It is the same with those in God’s Kingdom. Our wages are eternal life, and we are all on equal footing regardless of when we received God’s gift of salvation.
The one who came later is of no less value than the one who came earlier and vice-versa. We have all received the same gift for the same price that was paid – the life of the one unique Son of God. We should be thankful that many others have had their sins forgiven and eternal life given to them.
The Christian life is not a competition to see who “wins”. We all win! Remember that we are winning by no means of our own worth, but by means of the value Jesus Christ bought for us. Even when we win, Jesus Christ deserves the thanks and praise for our victory.
The next time you “side glance” another Jesus follower, please check your heart. He or she is of equal value to God. Despite what some say, God does not have favorites. We are ALL His favorites!
