Rich and poor have this in common:
the Lord makes them all. (Proverbs 22:2)
An old hymn goes like this, “The ground is level at the foot of the cross. / Anyone may come for there is no cost. / Rich man or poor man, bonded or free. / The ground was leveled that day at Calvary.” What truths this Proverb and hymn share which we cannot be reminded of enough. Regardless of our situation in life, where we were born, what families we were born into, or the socioeconomic status we have been given, the Lord is the Maker of all of us. Every single soul you knew, know, and will know was created by and intimately known by our infinitely incredible God (Eph. 1:4, Rom. 8:29). And yet, on the outside we may be vastly different, but on the inside, we are all the same. Because of sin, every single person, rich or poor, bonded or free, is in the default position of an eternal separation from God (Rom. 3:23).
It is so easy to get caught up on appearances, what this person or that is like, what they do or don’t do, what they believe or don’t believe about the non-essentials of our faith. Our sinful hearts cause us to even subconsciously make in- and out-groups of our own brothers and sisters in Christ. But we must be constantly reminded that our Maker came as a man, lived a sinless life, died for our sake for the forgiveness of our sins, and was raised from the dead, defeating death itself. The ground was leveled that day at Calvary. And we must be reminded that our salvation is only by grace through faith, a free gift from God so that no one may boast. (Eph. 2:8, Rom. 6:23). We are not only the same in sin, but also exactly the same in our salvation as children of God because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross.
Knowing that the ground is level at the foot of the cross, take a moment to reflect on those who might be on the fringes of your comfort or even you may struggle with for whatever reason and press in. God has created us in his image to be a blessing and encouragement to each other, so let’s live it.