Monday, September 26 – Galatians 3:28

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Have you ever walked into a room and immediately compared yourself to everyone else there? Maybe you walked into a restaurant and became very quickly aware that you were not dressed as formally as everyone else. Maybe you were in a lobby, waiting for an interview next to all your competitors. There are many moments in life when our default is to compare ourselves to others, especially based on the differences we can see. Paul told the Galatian church, “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (v. 27). David Guzik in his commentary says, “In the original language, the phrase has the idea of putting on a suit of clothes. So we ‘clothe ourselves’ with Jesus as our identity.”[1]

All who are clothed in Christ have the most important thing in common. There are many differences we can see externally like job status, gender, or cultural background, but in Christ, we are one with others who follow Jesus. There is no place to compare ourselves like we used to or build up the barriers God has taken down. In Him, we are all changed from the inside out, we are clothed in Him and through Him, and all our differences become unique pieces of our testimony instead of reasons to be disunified. This is not always something we remember or that comes naturally. Just like getting dressed in the morning, we must take the intentional effort of clothing ourselves in Christ each day so that we can see one another as He sees us and fight to preserve the unity He has given us. Only in Him and through Him can we truly be one.

• How has God brought you together with people who are different from you?
• How does clothing yourself in Christ change how you see others?
• Pray and ask God to help you to clothe yourself in Christ today.

[1] David Guzik, “Study Guide for Galatians 3,” Blue Letter Bible, February 21, 1970, https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Gal/Gal-3.cfm.