On my way home from high school I often walked by one cemetery and cut through another. I was intrigued by the grave markers, for they revealed the social status of each person who had died. Near the cemetery entrances were crypts, gray stone buildings with ornate iron scrollwork and the family name prominently displayed. Pillars and large ornamental markers were nearby, then rows and rows of headstones. Small, flat, stone markers marked the graves of the poor.

As I recall those days, I'm reminded of a cemetery in Germany called God's Acre. A young nobleman named Zinzendorf (1700-1760) opened his estate to religious refugees from Moravia. He gave them the freedom to worship God as they wished. In time, that little enclave became a worldwide missionary movement.

Each person buried in that cemetery, prince or pauper, count or coal miner, had an identical plain white headstone. This underscored their conviction that all believers in Christ are spiritually equal in their standing before God. They took seriously the teaching of James 2:1, that we are not to treat one another with "partiality."

Lord, help us to treat our brothers and sisters in Christ as equals, giving honor to all.    — David C. Egner