By Jeremy Writebol
“You get a car! You get a car! You get a car!” The TV studio was filled with explosive screams of amazement and joy as members of the audience opened a special box they had been given. Earlier, the host had told the audience that only one of the boxes contained a set of keys to a new car. Yet when they were instructed to open their box, each person found they had a set of keys. Complete pandemonium and chaos ensued in the studio as each guest believed themself to be the winner. And they were. As the host shouted, “You get a car! You get a car! Everyone gets a car!”, the room was filled with the awareness and joy that no one was left out. Everyone was in on the good gift.
If you’ve ever been left out of something, you know the disappointment and pain that can accompany being excluded. You feel isolated and singled out for sadness. The joy and blessing that others seem to be in on aren’t shared with you. Being excluded from a community is especially painful. Standing outside a circle of love, belonging, and fellowship cuts us to the core. Many feel this way from the community of Christ, the church.
Yet the coming of Christ was not a pronouncement of exclusion and isolation, kicking many out. It was a proclamation of love and invitation, bringing many in. Whatever the expectations of the people of Israel regarding the Messiah and His salvation were, God made it plain that this good news of His love was for absolutely everyone. No one, especially based on their ethnicity, would be excluded from being gifted the love and mercy of God in Jesus Christ.
The day of Jesus’s ritual circumcision and purification at the temple would have established Him ethnically and ceremonially as a Jew. The customs and practices, the laws and culture of the Jews would be distinctly His. As the Holy Spirit led the elderly Simeon to see the Lord’s Messiah, the expectation among the Jews was that this Messiah would be the deliverer exclusively for the Jewish people. Yet Simeon’s blessing revealed something greater. God’s salvation through the Messiah was to be “a light for revelation to the Gentiles and glory to your people Israel” (Luke 2:32). God was effectively proclaiming, “You get a Savior! You get a Savior! Everyone gets a Savior!” to the whole world. The coming of Jesus as the Messiah is not just about salvation for one ethnic group, race, or nation. In Christ, God’s salvation extends to “the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6).
Maybe you’ve come to believe the love of God is only for a specific, exclusive group of people that you can’t be part of. No, if you’re a human being, the love of God in Christ is for you. Maybe you’ve withheld sharing the love of God in Christ with others, especially those who are different from you. Consider proclaiming the love of God in Christ to everyone, for everyone. The gift of the Savior is for absolutely everybody.
Post Comments (0)