Theme:   People of the Second Chance

This eDevotional was written by a volunteer from Timberlake Church.

Read: Acts 9:1-9; Ephesians 3:19

Think: One of the first episodes of television sitcom, “The Office” I saw was one on stereotyping. I liked it right away because they dared to repeat the stereotypes on television that we all keep secretly in our own heads. I was hooked. It was honest, and it was ridiculous. Honestly ridiculous. Isn’t that what labeling is too?

John Ortberg in The Life You’ve Always Wanted said, “Groups have a tendency to be exclusive. Insiders want to separate themselves from outsiders. So they adopt boundary markers. These are highly visible, relatively superficial practices… whose purpose is to distinguish between those inside a group and those who are outside.” He goes on to say, “What’s worse, the insiders become proud and judgmental toward outsiders.” These boundary markers are the part of town where you live, the type of car/truck you drive, whether your kids go to public or private school, if you’re a white collar or blue collar worker, a working or stay-at-home mom. We could go on and on. The important point is that these boundary markers create invisible walls that keeping the insiders in, and outsiders out.

Paul, formerly known as Saul in the book of Acts, was familiar with these kind of boundary markers. Before his Jesus-style-conversion, Paul was in the religious right of his day, and was disgusted with a new sect of weirdos called Christians. He was an insider and the Christians were definitely outsiders. Paul, being in the religious and social elite, took it upon himself to rid his society of a fast-growing group of people who looked, acted and believed differently. He was traveling from town to town rounding up Christians and throwing them into prison, when, out of the blue, he had a come-to-Jesus experience. “As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’” (Acts 9:3-4 niv).

In a flash, Jesus decimated the invisible wall of separation between the insider and the outsiders, and united them in love. Paul eventually left everything that he knew: his status, position and the pressures to be perfect, and spent the next 14 years unlearning the ways of his religious separatism. He dedicated his life to knowing Jesus and making Him known to the world. Later Paul wrote, “Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:19 ncv) The love that Paul found in Christ transforms the outsider and the elitist alike into his beloved children.

Do: Recognize your natural tendency to separate and label by means of superficial boundary markers. Remind yourself that those boundary markers are honestly ridiculous and just cause division.

Pray: Jesus, help us with our weakness toward judgment and pride. Help us to remember that we were once considered separated from you, but you loved us and accepted us when we were still outsiders. Amen.