Keep the candles

Galatians 3:23-29

Some couples light a unity candle at their wedding. There are, usually, three candles involved in the ceremony. Two lit candles stand on either side of an unlit candle in the middle. The two lit candles represent each person's family. The unity candle is the one the couple lights as a sign of their union. Most couples I've married assumed they were to blow out the two already-lit candles. Someone taught me, though, to remember those two families are still there. Yes, there is a new family being born. But that doesn't mean the other families disappear. In fact, those two families are coming together that day to make the new family. And part of marriage is living with these two families. They have been and will continue to be a part of the life of each individual. That's part of the joy and conflict of making a new family. The first great controversy in the church centered around a similar struggle. How does a new family live in communion with itself? In the New Testament, it wasn't a husband and wife lighting a candle. It was people groups figuring out how to let Christ's light shine amongst their differences. This was an incredibly hard thing to live out. One one side you had Jewish identity and culture. The other side, so to speak, were Gentiles. And in the middle was this new movement of God. Some would have preferred one of the two cultures to diminish itself. Jews wanted Gentiles to follow their traditions. I'm sure there were Gentiles who thought less of Jewish customs. And that's what makes the apostle Paul's words so striking. "There is no longer Jew or Greek...slave or free...male and female" (Galatians 3:28). The new family of God was now front and center.  But "there is no longer" seems like strong language. What, did those people groups disappear? Are they gone? Of course not. But they have a new place in relation to the union God has formed. They are no longer at the center. As God's church, who we are in Christ is of utmost importance. In Christ we live and move and have our being. At the same time, we're still who we are. Our cultural differences shouldn't divide us because Christ unites us. What's different about who we are, the beauty of our culture and heritage should be a blessing to the church and God's mission. Stay blessed...john