Forthright Fixation

“May God arise, may his enemies be scattered;
may his foes flee before him.

As smoke is blown away by the wind,
may you blow them away;
as wax melts before the fire,
may the wicked perish before God.

When you went out before your people, O God,
when you marched through the wasteland,

the earth shook,
the heavens poured down rain,
before God, the One of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.”

(Pslam 68: 1, 2, 7, & 8, NIV)

~

My ancestors were enemies of God’s Chosen People.

Were yours? Let that sink in.

I tend to have such a New Testament train of thought. Like the song lyrics, to that children’s classic… ”Red and yellow, black and white/they are precious in His sight…” But, in reality, in Old Testament times, I (being a Gentile) very likely would have been estranged from God’s people. Estranged from God.

And when I think of that mind blowing situation, this passage never fails to come to mind:

“He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

(John 1:11-13)

I grin now, just reading it over. God sent Jesus; He was the mediator between Man and God. For poor, insignificant Man. For not only His first, chosen people, but for all peoples. For anyone who heard and believed. For me. And this fact, this realization, is enough to make me fall into love with my Saviour whenever I ponder it.

“Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth…remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.”
(Ephesians 2:11a-13)

Filed under: Attributes of God, Faith, Forgiven, Grace