"In this week's epistle Paul describes a radical alternative to excluding others who aren't like us. For those who follow Jesus, writes Paul, "there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all" (Colossians 3:11). The nearly identical verse in Galatians 3:28 adds that "there is neither male nor female." I like to add our modern equivalents — no Iraqis or Iranians, no North Koreans or North Vietnamese, no blue bloods or blue collar, no imperialists or terrorists, no gays or straights, no youth or elderly.
With a single sentence Paul repudiates the idea that humanity is fated to exclude one another because of paranoia and stereotypes, that there is an inevitable clash of civilizations, or that class warfare is unavoidable. Contrary to the relentless propaganda that we are force fed, we need not succumb to race-baiting, to gay-bashing, to ethnic slurs, or to demonizing a nation as an enemy, an "evil empire," or "axis of evil." Instead of insisting that "you are either with us or against us," the Christian says, "I am unconditionally for you, no matter who you are, where you live, or what you've done. And God is for you far more than I could ever be for you.""
from - http://www.journeywithjesus.net/Essays/20100726JJ.shtml
a powerful reflection on the text.
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