“When our identity as Christians is our highest allegiance, we are liberated to see the beauty in our diversity.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – January 8, 2026
They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. Luke 13:29, NKJV
I come from a long line of southern Americans, tracing our roots back to English farmers who immigrated to Virginia, Alabama, and Georgia in the early 1700’s. As anyone who has spent any amount of time in this part of the world can tell you, this is a region with a deeply rooted identity, which, at its best, is a model of welcome and hospitality, yet at its worst can be judgmental, closed off, and suspicious of “the outsider.” Case in point, ask most southerners their opinions of “Yankees,” and you’ll quickly see what I mean!
Though it isn’t wrong to love and appreciate the best parts of our native cultures, there is a risk we run in making secondary allegiances the primary lens through which we see the world. We fall prey to this when we view anything or anyone who is different than us as flawed or deficient. And likewise, we’re guilty of this posture when we greet others with judgment in our hearts, rather than gratitude and wonder at the privilege of meeting someone made in the image of God.
When our identity as Christians is our highest allegiance, we are liberated to see the beauty in our diversity. As we read in Luke 13, people from every corner of the earth, “from the east and the west, from the north and the south,” bring who they are into the kingdom of God, yet do so as equals, sitting down side by side at the feet of the one true king and one from whom our true and deepest identity flows. The next time you feel a judgmental or critical spirit rising up in your heart, seek to instead keep this vision in your heart and mind, and give thanks to God for the different ways his sons and daughters bear witness to his light and love.
Prayer
Father, thank you for the beautiful diversity of your kingdom, and how you are drawing people from every corner of the world into the peace of your heavenly kingdom, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Application
How can you cultivate a posture of humble curiosity in your interactions with others?
Related Reading
Isaiah 25:6; Galatians 3:28; Revelation 7:9
Worship Resource
Andrew Peterson: Is He Worthy?
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