Those People?

In the Old Testament, Gentiles were outcasts. There was a "Court of the Gentiles" in the temple plans, but they could never go into the inner courts. Just because they were not Jewish - they were Gentile. It could be easy to think that we are the outcasts and rejected based on something we cannot control, right? Seems like prejudice at its best. Lol. Of course, Paul mentioned in Galatians 3 that we are all in Christ, and there is no more separation of the Jew and the Gentile - we now belong to the same class - we are HIS!

But in the Old Testament, the dividing wall (Ephesians 2:14-19) had not been torn down and the Gentiles were separated. However, I notice this interesting trend. Every so often, maybe God forgot or something, but He included us in the promise. I've got two examples.

Isaiah 60:1-3. God is prophesying through Isaiah, the prophet. He is really talking about the coming of the Messiah, Jesus. The light has come! Even in the midst of the earth's darkness, this Light and Glory will appear. And in verse 3, it says the Gentiles will come to your light. Wait! What? God was going to purposefully draw the Gentiles in? That's pretty cool, even if others didn't quite get it, right?

Malachi 1:11. Again, God is speaking through a prophet and He is declaring that God's name will be great among the nations. All of them! No one is left out. No one is forgotten or left behind. His name will be great among the nations! But in the middle of this verse, He specifically says that His name will be great among the Gentiles. How cool is that! 

I like this verse in Malachi because he says His name will be great from sunrise to sunset. But, there is always a sunrise AND a sunset happening on the earth. So, God's name must always be great. He's not just there for us in the dark times. And He's not just with us in the daytime. He's with us all the time - even if we are "those people!"

Have you ever been called "those people?" I have. One time, I was working with the ministerial alliance in a small town and trying to get some funds. I was a single mother with two kids, and I was putting myself through college. It was tough, and I just needed a little help. I got "the lecture" from a couple of "ministers" and one literally said, "If you people would come to church...." Needless to say, I never stepped foot in the door of their church again. I had become "you people"  in his eyes. I decided right then and there that this was not how I was going to live my life. It was such an oppressing thing to say to someone. I gladly separated myself back to "my people" in the ghetto side of town in my government housing project. Lol. I had never been so happy to be an outcast.

But Jesus doesn't EVER take that attitude. He just keeps saying, "Come" - to everyone. He doesn't care if we are caregivers or not. He doesn't measure the darkness in our lives, and we must be at a certain level of trouble, distress, or discomfort before He calls us or answers us. He's always open and ready to hear us, help us, and LOVE us. No matter what!  None of us are "those people." Instead, we are all His people!

Today, I'll rejoice because we are all God's people. He has removed the partitions between Jew and Gentile, male and female, caregiver and non-caregiver! We are all His, and He offers us His peace, grace, mercy, and sustaining love. I'll be thankful that He is accepting and doesn't have us grouped out as "those people" - Instead, He calls us His people. My meditations will be on how we are all accepted into the beloved, and we are all greatly loved and cherished by God. He will not leave us even when we think we can handle it alone. He remains faithful. I love Him for that - and I believe I can trust Him for one more day! Will you join me?

 Peace Out! It's in the Bible is a 31-day devotional that is focused on letting God's peace reign in our hearts - no matter what. You can get the eBook from my shop at Buy Me A Coffee. Or the print and kindle versions are available in my Amazon Shop.

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