Equal

Equal

Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right.”

“OH, BOY. I suppose Jake is the favorite child this week.” I chucked a piece of roll at my brother Jake as I laughed and ducked around the kitchen corner to avoid his return throw, Mom sputtering from the table as she simultaneously scolded me about not throwing food and about not having favorites.

As adult siblings who live in different states and see each other infrequently, when we do get together, my brothers and I can’t resist rascally moments in which we act like our former twelve-year-old selves, and we tease our mom about having a momentary favorite because she has always been staunch in her unconditional love for her children, no favorites allowed.

All teasing aside, I have friends with deep hurts and tense family relationships because of favoritism. I’ve watched women struggle in friend groups because of the dynamics associated with favoritism. And I’ve watched as the church—denominations across the spectrum of Christianity—believe themselves to be just slightly more loved by God than all the rest, their quiet smugness about being the favorite impossible for others to miss.

I’m not talking about theological differences and whether one denomination is closer to living out what God intends than another, I’m talking about the unconditional, everlasting love of our heavenly Father and our very secret, rarely confessed assurance that he loves our particular faith community the tiniest smidgen more than the faith community down the street. I have been guilty of this particular sin, and I recognize its look and sound as I serve alongside women from different denominations.

In Acts 10, Peter went to visit Cornelius, a Gentile and a Roman soldier, at his home. Although Jewish law prohibited Peter from entering a Gentile home, God used both visions and an angel to arrange the meeting, and when Peter visited Cornelius and his family, he confessed they were just as beloved as any Jewish follower—that God has no favorites.

Lord, show me the ways I’ve secretly considered myself or my denomination your favorite. Forgive me for failing to see others through the love you have for them. Amen.

-Julie

One Good Step: Ask God to show you the people you encounter through his eyes today.