The True Revolutionary

History is littered with revolutions and revolutionaries of one kind or another. Be it Mao or Hitler or Pol Pot in previous generations, or self-styled dictators and autocrats of today.
The revolution claims legitimacy because it is ‘for the good of the people’, when in practice it comes down to only being good for the leader and his/her cronies.
I was struck the other day by Paul’s comment in Galatians 3:28 – “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”.
What a remarkable statement. Paul crystallises three areas that Jesus has revolutionised, areas often called racism, classism and sexism.
In Christ racial distinctions are made redundant. Yes, there are different colours of skin pigment, different cultural backgrounds and genetic heritages, but it is irrelevant. The value of a human being is not judged by this. The Christian community is a community that restores and unifies people of every race and background – epitomised on the day of Pentecost.
In Christ classism has been made redundant. In those days it was slaves and free. Classism is alive and well today – in some parts of the world so entrenched that you cannot depart from the status given you at birth. This creeps in through feelings of superiority based on wealth or privilege, or education. The Christian community transcends class differences by affirming the equal worth in the sight of God to each individual.
In Christ sexism is made redundant. In the culture wars of our own day there remains many issues that impact both women and men, be it domestic violence, sexual exploitation, gender roles and feminist ideologies. In much of the world women are still treated as second-class citizens under the tyranny of males. Jesus treated both women and men with full humanity and equal respect. The Christian community is to be a community where the forces of sexism are transcended by the sense of value and identity that comes from being a child of God. Women and men are equal before God
Has the Christian community always lived up to the ways of our revolutionary Master? Clearly not. Frequently in its history the church has stood in the shoes of the perpetrator in regard to racism, classism and sexism. At the same time, from within have come voices calling for reform and calling for us to embrace afresh the way of Christ. One recent voice would be the impact of Archbishop Desmond Tutu calling for an end to apartheid.
It may not look like it to the outside world, but to be a follower of Jesus Christ is to be part of the most revolutionary movement of all time. It transforms those core relationships of race, class and sex that have, through human history, led to all kinds of self-justifying hatred and violence.
I am very thankful to be part of such a revolutionary movement today, one grounded not in self-aggrandisement, but in a leader who gave His life on a cross, and who invites us to a lifestyle of love and service. There can be no greater, and no more needed, revolution than that.