According to New Covenant theology, God was in Christ reconciling all things to Himself. It was done by Christ at the cross, but the enemy consistently seeks to divide mankind to be not so kind toward one another.

There is insidious language that seeks to divide. “You know how they are” and “those people are just like that,” are phrases that point toward a lack of understanding of the fact that we are all one human race. We belong to each other. There is no them, just us!

We are all human and we belong to each other. There is not us and them, there is just us. The person that you struggle to love because they have done something against you is loved by God just as much as you are. The people that. you struggle to trust because they hurt you are still just as much a part of God’s world as you are.

Whoever has been considered the vilest sinner and darkest human that ever walked on earth is still human and love by God and is part of us. We are commanded to love all, without reservation. But it seems that our fallen nature seems to always want to see someone punished for sins. We tend to want to demonizes someone and make them responsible for the wrong in the earth. And yet, still we belong to each other. There is no us and them, just us.

There is no them, there is just us.

The parable of the Good Samaritan shows us just this type of love. Jesus tells it in response to a question from a lawyer about eternal life, which causes the lawyer to quote scripture. The lawyer then ask who is our neighbor–seemingly trying to figure exactly what is require of him.

It is story that has been told again and again but maybe overlooked for just how much it speaks to the fact that there is just us, no us and them. As the parable unfolds, Jesus uses it to teach us how who we should truly care about. Religious leaders walked by a wounded man, but a Samaritan, a hated breed of half Jew, stops to help the man and cares for him when the others just walked by. They didn’t see it as their duty, but instead stuck to their plans and purposes.

Jesus, after telling the parable asks this question:

It is easy to overlook some people and expect someone else to deal with them. It is easier to just walk by rather than stop and do something to help. But when we realize that we are called to make a difference in the world, then we learn to look for opportunities to be a help to others. I have heard it said that we can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone.

We cannot help everyone; but everyone can help someone.

We must deal with the “us and them” concept if we ever want to truly extend the Kingdom of God in the earth. We are a part of one another. The sooner we see that, the sooner we will stop putting up walls. In Christ, we have all been reconciled back to the Father and we are one.

This passage is rich with the understanding that all that did divide, or still seeks to divide us is not of God. Jesus has made us one. He has formed on new race of humanity!

In Christ we are one.

God help us walk in love towards all people.