All Means All

In the affluent West where I live, when there's a tragedy in another Western nation – a school shooting, a train accident, a terrorist incident –  it's all over the news. But the wars and terrorism raging in Africa never get a mention, despite the suffering and carnage. Most have never even heard of the plight of the dispossessed and the stateless, like the Rohingya minority in Myanmar. Why is that? In an episode of the American Drama, The West Wing, an aide says to the President: "The idea that some lives are worth more than others is the root of all that's wrong with the world." The President replies quietly: "Yes, it is." That cuts deep because, in reality, that's how the world operates — some lives valued, others discarded, some lifted high, others overlooked. And if we're honest, sometimes we think like that too. But the Apostle Paul tells us something radically different:. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. (ESV) In God's economy, no life is worth more than another. Christ didn't die only for the powerful and ignore the weak. He died for all. His sacrifice levels the ground at the foot of the cross. And if Christ's love compels us, then we cannot rank people by status, race, income, usefulness, or background. To live for Jesus means to see every life through His eyes — equally precious, equally in need of grace, equally worth our love. The idea that some lives matter less is the root cause of all that is wrong with the world. That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.