Make No Distinction

Inherent within ourselves (due to sin) is the natural tendency to compare ourselves to others either by looks, character or even spirituality. Don't deny it, it happens every day. Your at work and you make a mental note as to how annoying "he" is. Your driving in your car and you subtly glance to your right and left at a stop light to check for any signs of good-looking girls. Once you realize that she is a 4 on your 1-10 scale you quickly shrink back into your seat and hope she didn't think you were checking her out. Its easy for me to describe this scenario because it is personal for me. I have done it many times before. Everyday I make judgments and distinctions on how people look and the way they act. However, this doesn't make it right.

Our standard of judgment should be that which God commands us to in Scripture:

"Make no distinction." (Acts 11:12)
"Judge not, that you be not Judged" (Matthew 7:1)

Clearly, when we judge others we are in outright sin and rebellion toward God. In His grace, when he called us, Paul says that "he made no distinction". there was nothing inherent in us that caused God to choose us or to not choose others. It was based solely on His will and His glory. If God makes "no distinction" then how can we? (I understand that there may be differences here but we can still draw some conclusions to this parallel).

In the book of Acts, when for the first time Peter shares the Gospel with the Gentiles, he is severely rebuked by his fellow Jews for associating with the uncircumcised. Peter's response was examplery to say the least:

"As I began to speak (to the Gentiles), 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 baptize 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?"

The Spirit had told Peter to go with the Gentiles because he was to "make no distinction." Once the apostles heard this they followed suit by saying, "Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life." The real question that I had to ask myself after I read this was, "have I made the same mistake as the Jews initially did? have I made some people out to be Gentiles in my life?"

God forbid that this would happen often, but unfortunately it does. Many times, by just the simple smallest judgments I make a distinction between someone. This is an immense roadblock for sharing the gospel with others and being that incarnate love to them that Christ was to us. This is what we call a "bridge burner." What could have been an opportunity to share, has now become an obstacle to evangelism.

Every time I make a distinction I am telling God that his plan for salvation is flawed. "Clearly he is not chosen Lord", "Obviously she is not included in your redeeming love." how stupid does this sound?! Yet it happens every day by Christians everywhere, including myself.

I pray that we have the same attitude as Peter did 2000 years ago. It is vitally important that we see everyone as sinners who are in desperate need of a Saviour. When we say that "maybe he needs it more than she does" or vice versa, we are playing the fool. Pray to God for grace that we may treat everyone as He has so mercifully treated us. Pray that God will grant us opportunities to share the abundance of wealth that has been so graciously given to us without distinction.

-Kyle-