Lent: Week 1, Day 5

There is a striking statement in today's video from SSJE.

And we as Christians believe that God actually entered into our human condition in the person of Jesus Christ to heal all that has separated us from God and each other.

 All those years ago, we were one people, children of God.  And since then, we have been finding ways of differentiating, of being different from others and emphasizing those differences as being negative, rather than appreciating them as being special in the sight of God.

There are two things I've noticed in recent years - people are either working to categorize everyone into boxes that are labeled "different than me" or "different from society" and considered "special".  Or, they are labeled "different" and therefore, "wrong".  The thing is, God doesn't make mistakes.  Now, we do - we make plenty of them.  But if God created us all, I don't think we can label people as anything other than a child of God.

Judgment for actions and choices - that's well above our pay grade.  Christ told us the way forward.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. ... You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

So today (don't forget to say your prayer this morning), find the connections, the commonalities, the differences you can cherish in another - simply because they are a child of God.  Just like you.