Near the end of Acts 13 a partial verse from Isaiah is
quoted. Here is the entire verse:
"Indeed He says:
‘It is too small a
thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to
restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also give You
as a light to the Gentiles, that You should be My salvation to the ends of the
earth.’”
The One speaking is God. The "You" is Jesus. Jesus
is the One who raised up the tribes of supplanters (Jacob) and restored the
overcomers (Israel). However the mission was not over. The Light of truth and
the love of God was to extend far beyond Jacob and Israel to the ends of the
earth. Jesus had started the mission. He had taken His disciples to Decapolis
and as far north as Tyre and Sidon. To His followers He had declared "You
will do greater things than I have done." Jesus is the Light of the world
and His followers are to spread the Light to everyone, everywhere.
It seems somewhere along the way we lost sight of that
mission. We lost the vision. We switched from Kingdom building to nation
building. Even within Christian nations we have erected walls between us. We
build neighborhoods for the rich, the middle class, and the poor and then never
go beyond our own walls. We have neighbourhoods for different ethnic groups as
if they are a plague to be contained. Those from Judah traveled around Samaria
and we travel around the "bad" neighbourhoods. We leave the wealthy
without hope because they aren't "one of us". On an international
scale we visit certain countries without hesitation and other ones we rarely if
ever step a foot.
It's not all negative.
My church has a presence in almost every nation of the world. For this I am
thankful. Men like J. N. Andrews made sure from the beginning that we embraced
Jesus' words "Go into all the world..."
But I'm challenged
lately by an ever increasing burden. How far does my mission field extend?
Where are my walls and borders? Am I sharing the Light everywhere or are there
"neighbourhoods" where I won't go?
God gave us Jesus as His ambassador. Jesus started the
mission and then called His church to carry on the mission. Are we sharing His
Light everywhere? Are we as eager to reach the dark skinned as the light
skinned? The Liberals as the Conservatives? The Democrats as the Republicans?
The Atheists as the religious? The Middle East as the Midwest? The Far East as
the Deep South? The LGBTQ as the straight? The addicted as the free?
Are we engaged in this war to save as many lives as possible
wherever they be found or are we studying our own comfort and seeking to build
walls around our little kingdoms here? Jesus. We either follow Him or we are
taking His Name in vain.
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