Baptized

"Christ accepted you, so you should accept each other," Romans 15:7.

Who should accept each other? Anybody who claims Christ as lord. That is, both believing Jews and believing non-Jews. That is, both the Hebrews rooted historically as God's particular people and all the rest of disconnected humanity. Both recipients of God's promises to his ancient people and ethnic newbies. Both Jews and Gentiles. Why should all these different peoples, ethnics all, receive each other? Because Christ did receive us all. Because Christ showed God's faithfulness to the Jews by becoming their servant. Because Christ sang praises to God among and with the Gentiles. Because it stands as a categorical imperative from the Lord that Gentiles and Jews should rejoice together, harmonizing praises to God. And when it says Gentiles and Jews, nobody but nobody's left out. Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female: each one baptized into the singular Messiah, Jesus. Sky kingdom.

And so meeting with a brother or sister today, God fills us with his joy and peace. And, together, through faith in Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit steeps us in hope.