God’s kingdom reaching out to all nations
Daily Scripture
Isaiah 42:5-7; 49:6; 56:3-8
Isaiah 42
5 God the LORD says—
the one who created the heavens,
the one who stretched them out,
the one who spread out the earth and its offspring,
the one who gave breath to its people
and life to those who walk on it—
6 I, the Lord, have called you for a good reason.
I will grasp your hand and guard you,
and give you as a covenant to the people,
as a light to the nations,
7 to open blind eyes, to lead the prisoners from prison,
and those who sit in darkness from the dungeon.
Isaiah 49
6 He said: It is not enough, since you are my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the survivors of Israel.
Hence, I will also appoint you as light to the nations
so that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.
Isaiah 56
3 Don’t let the immigrant who has joined with the LORD say,
“The LORD will exclude me from the people.”
And don’t let the eunuch say,
“I’m just a dry tree.”
4 The LORD says:
To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths,
choose what I desire,
and remain loyal to my covenant.
5 In my temple and courts, I will give them
a monument and a name better than sons and daughters.
I will give to them an enduring name
that won’t be removed.
6 The immigrants who have joined me,
serving me and loving my name, becoming my servants,
everyone who keeps the Sabbath without making it impure,
and those who hold fast to my covenant:
7 I will bring them to my holy mountain,
and bring them joy in my house of prayer.
I will accept their entirely burned offerings and sacrifices on my altar.
My house will be known as a house of prayer for all peoples,
8 says the LORD God,
who gathers Israel’s outcasts.
I will gather still others to those I have already gathered.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
The prophet most mainline scholars call Second Isaiah opposed his contemporaries’ narrow, black-and-white view of God’s favor and shared a universal message of hope. Including diverse people is often still an issue. John Goldingay wrote, “God’s purpose was always to bless the whole world through Israel.” * That vision led to Jesus’ Golden Rule, urging you to treat all people, of any background, with the same respect and kindness you desire. God’s kingdom reaches out to everyone. Jesus invited you to do the same.
- Isaiah said God’s salvation extends to all nations, not just Israel. This challenged many Israelites’ exclusive mindset. Like them, you likely meet people from diverse backgrounds or beliefs. How do you typically respond to those who are different from you? Can you recall an interaction where you struggled to be inclusive? How might embracing God’s vision of a universal kingdom change your approach to building relationships with people from different cultures or faiths?
- God promised to gather and welcome outcasts and foreigners into God’s house of prayer. This radical inclusion challenged some ancient (and modern) social norms. Too many people and groups feel marginalized or excluded in our world. How do you feel about those on the fringes of your social circles? Can you think of a specific way you could reach out to someone who might feel like an outsider in your community? How would this align with living out the Golden Rule?
Prayer
O God, your prophet was emphatic about your desire to include “all peoples” in your house of prayer. I’m thankful to be included. Help me rejoice in including others, too, in your family. Amen.
GPS Insights
Melanie Hill
Melanie Hill serves as the Director of Operations at Resurrection's West location. She is also a Navy mom and mom of three teen daughters, a wife of 24 years, and an avid fan of nachos.
I absolutely detest so many things about the current political atmosphere in our country, but believe it or not, I have found a silver lining. As the parent of two kids who can now vote, I have found myself in some pretty interesting conversations. For both of my oldest kids this will be their first time to vote in a presidential election. We’ve talked about how the political system works, the candidates, the hot topics of the day, etc. In other words, the good, the bad, and the ugly.
We haven’t just talked about the issues though; we’ve shared stories. Just the other day I was sharing with my daughter about an experience I had when I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area. At the time I was ministering to middle school students, and we had created a summer mission trip based on local work projects and experiences each day. It was on the fourth day of our event that I found myself, along with about 35 middle school students, listening to an immigration lawyer share the difficulty that many immigrants have in getting housing, jobs, licenses, etc. We heard from a couple who had fled El Salvador fearing for their lives and how they still feared for the lives of family members left behind. And we heard from city mission workers about how they worked to help and care for those coming to America looking for a better life. Then they put our students through an exercise that mimicked some of the obstacles that many immigrants face when arriving in the U.S. It was a lesson in frustration.
At the end of the day, we debriefed the event with our students. I admit I was a little surprised at how strongly some of them felt about the experience. There were viewpoints all along the spectrum in regard to what should be done about immigration at the border. As we wrapped up our conversation, I can honestly say I had never been prouder of serving with such amazing students. Regardless of their opinion on policy, they all agreed that the situation was heartbreaking and that these people needed to be loved and cared for. That was the takeaway for them. They didn’t have to agree on how to solve it, but they absolutely agreed on how to love.
In such a hot political season, it’s so easy to assign ill intent to those who disagree about how to solve a problem and miss the bigger picture that we all care about the problem. I’ve bemoaned often these days the terrible rhetoric coming from our politicians and media. It would be easy to sit back and put all the blame on them. Isaiah tells us differently though. If we want to change the discourse in our country, if we want to find our common ground, then we must be a light to the nations. Part of that includes teaching our younger generations to find common ground and to model what civil discourse looks like. It also means that our bubble has to be bigger than just our faith community. Jesus included all at His table and he invites us to do the same. Whether that’s listening to a viewpoint different than ours, or having a conversation over coffee with a friend, doing unto others has to extend to everyone. Not just when it looks the same. Not just when its easy. And let’s be honest. These days most of it doesn’t feel easy.
I have hope though. I have hope from the conversations I am having with my own kids. I have hope from those 35 middle school students who got it even if they didn’t agree on everything. I have hope that we can be a Christian community where everyone is welcome regardless of their differences. I have hope in you. Let us be a light to the nations and guide others on the pathway to a better way.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* John Goldingay, Isaiah for Everyone. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, p. 178.
