Genesis 1:26-27 & Galatians 3:26-29
* An excerpt from the Sermon Outline of the topic: Equality.
While we say we believe all people are equal, our society seldom treats people equally. It is an ideal we aim for, but mostly fail to live out either personally or as a community. At the time of Jesus, they did not believe people were of equal worth. The Greek philosophers believed that society was structurally unequal and that there was a subclass, the slaves, who were there to serve those who were the upper classes.
It was into this world that Jesus and the early church treat people with equal dignity and worth.Jesus tells a parable of a lost sheep in Matthew 18: 10-14. The shepherd leaves the ninety-nine sheep and goes after the one lost. This story demonstrates that everyone matters. Paul writes to the churches in Galatia and reminds them that in Christ all the old barriers and classes have been broken down and destroyed, and now we are all equal (Galatians 3:28).
Christianity does not teach that you matter because of how you perform, but you matter because God created you and loves you. God loves you and wants you to know that you matter, you are important, you are loved equally and nothing you can do can change that. This value has changed the world and it will change your life.
Rev. IL-WOONG KIM
