Day 320 - Prejudice

"At the back door an older black man came and told me he got the the CD because he wanted to listen to it again. He shared that he had grown up in the South going to black churches all his young life in the 1960's. He said that this was the first time he had gone to a white church. I responded that we don't view ourselves as a white church but that we are multicultural. He said yeah but me being a white preacher was a big deal for him. I told him that we are brothers bound by blood, the blood of Jesus. He said that it had been hard for him because he had seen the abuses in the name of the blood of Jesus and he was overcoming them now."

I had a very different life growing up than this man. Being from Southern California all I have ever known from a young age was a mixture of cultures. Diversity wasn't something we worked at, we lived it. Many of my closest friends to this day do not look like me. In fact I get a little nervous when I am surrounded by a bunch of people who are all the same color. It isn't natural for me. 

I had seen a limited amount of prejudice growing up. It wasn't just in white people either. There is plenty of prejudice in other races and cultures and I have been on the receiving end of it. Nothing like what this man I met last year experienced to be sure. When I ventured out for Bible College to the Midwest it became even more stark. My wife was working at the return desk of a store and when a mixed race couple walked in one of her coworkers gave some rude comments about how that shouldn't be. 

The wonderful thing about being a Christian is that all of that prejudice and hate has been nailed to the cross. The Bible is clear that in the Kingdom of God there is no longer class and race but now we are all one in Christ Jesus. There isn't even the distinction of male and female in the Kingdom of God. We all have a level playing field. We are on the same team, we are all working together. We are family. It is now one race, the human race. We are one blood, the blood of Jesus. 

As we crucify the flesh and renew our minds to the Word of God we will find the prejudice and the hate washed away. All are welcome at the table of the Lord. Jesus died for every person of every tribe, every tongue and every nation. No matter what color a person's skin is their lives matter because the one who matters most, Jesus, died for them. 

What are some good examples of people loving one another and overcoming prejudice? What scriptures deal with this issue?