NOTES for Gal 6:11-18
What do we see when we look at one another? What do we see when we look at ourselves? First of all, without question, outward things. It is exceedingly difficult even to understand the motives of our own actions, let alone the actions of our neighbors... And what can we rely on, what can guide us, if not outward, visible signs? "You and I are of one blood": we look for people like ourselves, or at least very similar to us. When we find a pronounced difference in someone, we become confused... and often try to reshape that person in our own image. How else can we communicate with them? How can we accept them if they are "not of our blood," not like us? The answer is simple. Before God, our human similarities and differences are nothing. In Christ only one Blood matters: the Blood of the Son of God that washes us clean. The only thing we can do is step outside the narrow bounds of our understanding and accept every other person as they are, for the sake of Christ who renews us.