The Upper Room Devotional – 19th January 2026, Monday Message
Today’s Reading
Galatians 3:23-29
In Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. – Galatians 3:26 (NRSVUE)
In 1955, when I was 11, my mom and I spent the fall in Louisville, Kentucky, at the home of Dr. Abbie Clement Jackson, my “adoptive” grandmother. Her neighborhood, my Boy Scout troop, my church, and my school were African American. When the Louisville school district wanted to bus me 20 minutes away to a white school, Grandma Abbie and Mom convinced the superintendent that I would be more comfortable remaining at the school where I had friends.
One morning, Grandma Abbie asked me to greet her escort who would be walking her to the African Methodist Episcopal church conference where she was the keynote speaker. Her escort was the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
That afternoon, Dr. King and his parents came back to the house for tea and conversation. At one point, Dr. King asked me, “What is it like being the only white boy in an all Negro school?” I thought for a moment about my community and said, “It’s normal.”
The Beloved Community Dr. King spoke of begins when we feel comfortable in our skin while respecting the person next to us. When we look into one another’s eyes and see a child of God, we find community.
Thought for the Day
Community is formed when we recognize God in one another.
Prayer Focus
To see all people as children of God
Today’s Prayer
Gracious God, may your love for us manifest itself in our love for others. Amen.
The Upper Room Devotional 19th January 2026 is a daily devotional magazine published in more than 30 languages and 100 countries around the world. The daily meditations are written by readers of the magazine and others interested in sharing their faith experiences through writing—both laity and clergy, published authors and new writers. Read More