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REFLECTION

All welcome is the theme for our reflection. The Lord Jesus welcomes all in the Church because although He is a Jew, He makes His salvation available to non-Jews or Gentiles. In the (Acts 11:1-18, the Jewish Christians including Peter had hitherto thought erroneously that salvation was only for the Jews but, after having a special revelation from the Lord, Peter said to the Jews “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”  When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” (Acts 11:15-18).

Beloved in the Lord, the church of Christ has no room for any form of tribal or ethnic and racial discrimination neither does it have room for any form of class, gender and political discrimination. Jesus’ salvation is for all and sundry, the only qualification is repentance, baptism and faith in Him. The Holy Spirit is available to anyone who accepts Jesus as his or her Lord and Saviour regardless of his or her background. It is for this reason, we are assured in Revelation 21:6 that “To the thirsty, I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.” There is nothing indicating that a person thirsty for salvation must come from a particular ethnic group, class, gender or church denomination. For the purpose of emphasis, anyone regardless of his or her background who is thirsty for salvation will be welcomed and accepted by Jesus so long as the person is willing to come to Him. Paul again states unequivocally that “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:27-28) Truly, Jesus welcomes all into the Church, we must be careful not to create any form of discriminatory impediment on the path of those who yearn to be saved and are willing to live a transformed life to the glory of God. Amen.

PRAYER

Holy Spirit, cure the church of all forms of discrimination and may we learn to welcome and embrace others in the Church regardless of our differences, for “…the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few…” (Matthew 9:37) Amen.