“The Lord says to me: ‘It isn’t enough to be merely my servant. You must do more than lead the tribes of your nation (Israel) back to me. I have placed you here as a light for every nation; You must take my saving power to everyone on earth.” (Isaiah 49:6) [CEV]
Most of you reading this live in America, the land of plenty. In America most people can obtain or do anything they think will make them happy. So, why are so many Americans unhappy when we have so much and can do so much? Evidence says that it’s because we have paid a huge price and taken crazy risk for our own benefit, but generally are unwilling to take time to meet the needs of others or even think about the interest of others.
The Bible clearly tells us that one of the main purposes of life is not about obtaining, but about loving. Look at (Luke 10:25-29) “‘Teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life?’ Jesus replied, ‘What does the Law of Moses say?’ The man answered, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ AND ‘Love your neighbor AS yourself!’ ‘That’s right!’ said Jesus. ‘Do this and you’ll live!’ But the man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, ‘So who is my neighbor?’ Jesus answered by telling a story…” The reality is, that to experience real joy and satisfaction we must give our lives away to something greater than ourselves.
(John 17:18) [Msg.] tells us, (Jesus) “In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world.” Jesus emphasizes that our significance, value and esteem come from service and from loving others.
Before our Savior, the Servant and the Messiah was born, God had chosen Him to bring the light of the gospel (the message of salvation) to the world (see Acts 13:147). Christ offered salvation to all nations (greek – ethne/ethnos, “ethnics/all nations”), and his apostles began the missionary movement to take this gospel message to the ends of the earth, the nations.
(Isaiah 49:6) [CEV] “The Lord says to me: ‘It isn’t enough to be merely my servant. You must do more than lead the tribes of you nation (Israel) back to be. I have placed you here as a light for every nation; You must take my saving power to everyone on earth.” This verse tells us that our mission is to share our knowledge of God’s love and saving power with “everyone on earth.” This is a huge challenge!
Let’s put this in perspective:
- The Bible says Jesus isn’t coming back until people in every tribe are there.
- Right now there are about thirteen thousand people groups in the world identified, by ethnicity, by language, by culture.
- Fact: There are 3,800 small tribes (unreached people groups) that still do NOT have a Christian church!
Think About It!
- Have you made friends with someone from a different culture, who is ethnically different and who speaks a different language than you? It no, why not?
- If you have made friends with someone who is different than you, how has that enriched your life?
- What have you learned from your friend?
- Do you suffer with xenophobia (xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange)?
- What can you do to reach the “nations” from where you live?
