One: Lent Devotional Sample

Radical inclusion

God opposes oppression. This is because to marginalize, oppress or exclude a human being is to violate God’s image.

Every single one of us is made in God’s likeness. Every. Single. One. Of. Us. We are one. There is no "them", there is only "us".

There’s a famous saying, "Build bridges, not walls." But Jesus went further than that. He tore down the walls. He sought out those who had previously been excluded (John 4, Mark 1:40-45), and he included them. He sought out those who had been rejected, and he embraced them. He sought out those who had been left out, and he let them in.

That is the nature of Christ: radical inclusion. And Christ is everywhere, always. The moment of creation itself was an act of inclusion: to bring physical matter into union with the divine. That is the story of God. And that is our story, our mission. To be the great includers.

Prayer:

God of inclusion, make us more like you. Help us to focus on the things that unite, not the things that divide us. Help us include. Amen.

By Gideon Heugh