In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. Also, since you are Christ’s family, then you are Abraham’s famous “descendant,” heirs according to the covenant promises.
Galatians 3:28-29
No Rivals
My dear sisters! It is a privilege to call you sister and an honor to call you friend. I can address you with many terms of endearment, yet we are very different. We have different shapes and sizes; we have different talents and abilities. We are from different walks of life and different backgrounds. We have different stories, and even our journey of freedom is not the same. However, we are all one.
Sometimes I hate how petty we, as women, have become. The underlying competition is ridiculous. Even now, as I write to you, I sit inferior to all the great authors who write enchanting works of art. That, my sisters, is not freedom. More boulder-lies along the path that tell us we need to be like such and such to have value. The lie is that freedom comes when we are like so and so. I rolled my eyes.
Our Father, who lavishly gave us our freedom, is unlike our earthly parents. Our God does not play favorites. There is nothing we can do, no place we can go that will change how our Father feels about us. That, in and of itself, is freeing. We do not have to compete for our father’s attention or approval. We are free to accept His love in our diversity.
We allow sin to twist our differences into an occasion for pride, humiliation, covetousness, or envy, robbing us of our freedom.
We are free to accept His love in our diversity
We forget this often; it is one of our largest boulder-lies to overcome. We allow sin to twist our differences into an occasion for pride, humiliation, covetousness, or envy, robbing us of our freedom. We are uniquely and carefully made, on purpose for a purpose. In seeing ourselves as “less than,” we shy away from the community God called us to live in. We isolate, feel our dignity is lost, and have no identity.
Feelings of inadequacy are enslaving. We will never be motivated to express our strength if we don’t see our value. If we don’t think we have worth, we will never be confident in developing our gifts; we won’t enjoy the blessings of our day. I wonder how much medication could be saved if we truly knew our worth as a human race.
In Christ, we are free to love one another as Christ loved—-freely. We are free to love without fear of being diminished or intimidated. Living free means we soon discover how important we are to our Father. “We were slaves to the elemental spirits of the universe. But when the time had fully come, God sent forth His son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:1-3) That sentence right there contains one word to describe our worth. “Redeem” Like the slave set free, no price can ever be put on our head again. We are not redeemed to do something but to be someone.
When we live in this freedom, we also become aware of our intimacy with the Father. This gift of daughtership allows us to address our father with familiarity. No more formal rules and regulations like a slave to her master; we are free to cry out “Daddy.” We are free to share and express ourselves honestly and fearlessly in the presence of God. Personal and uninhibited faith is not a formal relationship. Just like we are free to be ourselves in the company of one another, we are free to be with our Father just the same.
Sisters, this is all a gift, this freedom stuff. No seizing or competing, just a gift our Father gives to each of us. Let us simply extend our hand and say, “I receive.”