Restored After the Stew
Ephesians 3: For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake
of you Gentiles, pray to God. 2 Surely you
have heard that God in his grace has given me this work to do for your
good. 3 God revealed his secret plan and made it
known to me. (I have written briefly about this, 4 and
if you will read what I have written, you can learn about my understanding of
the secret of Christ.) 5 In past times human beings
were not told this secret, but God has revealed it now by the Spirit to his
holy apostles and prophets. 6 The secret is that by
means of the gospel the Gentiles have a part with the Jews in God's blessings;
they are members of the same body and share in the promise that God made
through Christ Jesus.
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Standing on the sideline, I waited to be picked to be on one
of the teams. I was not athletically inclined, so my draft pick was extremely
low. I was finally chosen, but did not get a chance to play that time, but when
I did, I actually got on base!
- At one time I felt left
out.
- When I was chosen I
still felt like I did not belong.
- When I participated, I
did not know I could actually contribute.
Paul goes to enormous lengths to explain the Gentiles have a
part in GOD’s promise. For centuries, the Gentiles heard of the GOD of Abraham,
Isaac and “Jacob”, (the swindler who tricked his brother Esau out of his
birthright for some stew). While Esau was careless, he did not know he would be
the father of a group of people who were left out of the Promise.
My Observations
- GOD sees my mistakes and
forgive me anyway.
- GOD wants me to be part of
HIS family, even though I do not deserve it.
- GOD wants me to actively
participate as much as those who are gifted.
Some people who follow JESUS can be intense or even a bit
intimidating. I mean, he may give more or she may serve more or someone else may
not sin as much. BUT GOD doesn’t look at the score when it comes to HIS
Promise. HE wants all of HIS children back, period.
HE chose a group to spread HIS Gospel, and they held it to
themselves. HE then allowed HIS SON to fulfil the Gospel and they killed HIM.
HE raised JESUS from the dead and gave HIS promise to the descendants of Jacob
and Esau. He restored the Gentiles without having them need to follow all the
rules. I am glad JESUS was raised from the dead for me.
Challenge
- Can you feel the passion
of the writer over those who were at once left out?
- Have you ever felt left
out or less than another person?
- Will you accept JESUS as
your Savior and be a part of a family who HE care for and guides daily, in
spite of flaws?
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