So in Christ Jesus you are all Children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:23-28)

LIMITED CHOICES

The option boxes on the income tax form were limited: single or married. I took a moment to consider. Even though my husband had passed away six months ago, I still considered myself to be married. Forty-four years of a relationship is not easily erased. I twisted the ring I  wore on my left hand a few times. The term “Widow!” was still new to me. It often seemed as if the word was written on a dark cloud that continually lurked around every corner, reminding me that my own identity had shifted when Ron had taken his last breath. Tears smarted at my eyes as I checked the box for “single”, knowing that even if this was my legal status, it did not define me.

It was just a label.

LABELS

We find labels useful for organzing and categorizing; they can be a necessary evil, but these designations in no way measure who we really are. Galatians 2:20 reminds us that if we are crucified with Christ, we still live in our mortal bodies but we are living by faith

 It was a lesson that the Galatians in the early days of Christianity had a hard time learning. As part of the Roman Empire, those Jews living in Galatia lived under many rules and restrictions and they resented the inclusion of the Gentiles in Christ’s salvation plan, completely forgetting the words of the prophet Isaiah that, “I will make also to you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6). 

While the Galatians maintained they believed in salvation through faith, they were pretty wishy-washy about it, easily swayed by a sect of Judaizers who insisted that the newly converted Gentiles adher to the Mosaic law, including circumcision. During the Apostle Paul’s first trip to Galatia, he was “astonished” that the members of the church had so quickly abandoned their identity with Christ and added to the salvation message (Galatians 1:6-9). 

CHEAP GRACE 

It’s what Deitrich Bonhoeffer called “cheap grace” back in 1937. It is, in short, forgiveness without repentance, baptism, or discipline. If you recall your high school literature class, think about “The Pardoner’s Tale” in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales who forgave siins for a price, no repentance needed! “Cheap grace” for sale!

We live in an age in which conflicts often arise over identities associated with ethnicity, culture, race, talent, money, intellectual ability, and a host of other labels–even widowhood–that often place us in the world similar to S.E. Hinton’s novel, The Outsiders. Don’t recall this 1983 novel about the rivalry between the “greasers” and the “socs”? How about West Side Story and the Jets versus the Sharks? Same song, different verse. 

THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE

 I think Jesus Himself knew a thing or two about being ousted from the popular lunch table. We need only to look at those He chose as his close companions—several common fishermen, a Zealot, a tax collector, and a thief—to know that Jesus was not hanging out with the Beautiful People. As He left Earth for Heaven, He desired for there to be unity among the believers.

So what’s the problem? Why do we continue to allow labels to separate us from the unity God designed for us? If we are all His children–and, trust me on this, we are–then what’s the big deal. None of us earned our salvation, even those poor fools who gave money to the Pardoner.

It was given to us. Freely. We need to take a closer look at Romans 15:7, “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” And he doesn’t care if you’re a “greaser” or a “soc”, a “Jet” or a “Shark.”

NECESSITY

Occassionally, labels are needed. The IRS needs to know my “label” for tax purposes. The school district needed to know my autistic son’s “label” to provide him with the needed services. But the labels do not define us anymore than our names. Just ask the parents of Juliet Capulet and Romeo Montague. Okay, enough references to high school literature. 

So, yes, I checked the box for “single.” I was not happy about it, but it was, after all, just a label. It did nothing to erase either my long marriage to Ron. More importantly. It did nothing to affect my relationship with God.

It was just a box.