You Are Not the Only One

#Taught#Written#Prayer#Nationscancome!

I have often wondered what one does when they read this passage. Christ is preparing for his departure from the earth.  He is telling his disciples how to accept all peoples from all nations.  However, this is extended to us today. The doors of our places of worship should be open to all peoples from all countries.  Just read the context of the rest of the chapter.

¹⁵ And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves; ¹⁶ And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. ¹⁷ And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves. ¹⁸ And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine.

What was the response of the established religious leaders? “and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him because all the people was astonished at his doctrine.” Does that sound familiar to you? Do you hear people insisting that only certain people should have access to your neighborhood, community, county, state, or nation? How does that argument translate to those same people hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ? Is it possible that when we become “self-saving” that we are blocking God’s grace from others? 

I remember one day I had a lot of children in my classroom who were on in-school suspension.  I took my students to all of the activities that were associated with that school day. Such as the computer lab, art, the library, and the gym.  The in-school suspension students were not allowed to attend any of those classes. My students asked me why others were being excluded from our activities for the day. You see, I have never done that before. I had to explain to them that those individuals were being punished for their inappropriate behavior in another class. They were in our class for punishment. Exclusion from all class activities was the only option left for them. Also, it meant that I would be punished. Why? Those children consumed all of my free planning time. I was being punished with them.

As a pastor, I could not exclude anyone from coming to the house of God. Jesus paid the price for their sins. The blood of Jesus will bring them closer to the throne of Grace. I have to apply that principle to my personal life and my own walk. I cannot choose to like or dislike a person because of where they come from, how they got to my neighborhood or even my country. I have to trust that God will take care of the challenge that they place upon our resources. Why are they here is my personal question? Who are they and what are they looking for? Being a refuge to others is not a thing one can choose to do for one group of individuals but not for another. That is called partiality. We have to see people the way God sees them.

PRAYER: Lord, teach me how to love all people from all nations in the same way that you love them.  Open my heart to be unconditional in my love of others and my outlook on life in general. It takes the spirit of Christ to see a person as a person first, and not by their ethnicity or religious beliefs.