For this is what the Lord has commanded us,
‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’
Acts 13:47
God’s plan all along was to use His people to bring the light of His love to all of the world. He revealed His plan originally to Abram in Genesis 12:
“…all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
God confirmed it in the Acts passage above, when Paul and Barnabas spoke to the Jews in Pisidian Antioch (quoting the book of Isaiah).
God’s Word is true and timeless. His plan was unchanging. The thread of the Gospel was woven into the fabric of God’s plan for all people and all nations from the very beginning. It is embedded in both the Old and the New Testament.
God blessed Israel so that they would be a blessing to the world. That promise was ultimately fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ – born in the lineage of Abraham, as confirmed in the genealogy found in Matthew 1.
He selected Israel to fulfill His chosen purpose: to reach all nations. God revealed His glory to Israel not only to bless them, but also so that through them, all the nations of the world would be blessed. They were chosen as the messengers.
This purposeful plan from God was all about revealing His glory, drawing people to Himself, and leading us to love and worship Him. And we are grafted into the mission. Jesus left us with this assignment:
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Matthew 28:19-20
Our great God seems to delight in choosing improbable people, and giving them the most critical tasks. He equips us with all we need to complete each assignment He has for us … and He gets the glory for every bit of it.
We can step out in confident faith, knowing we cannot fail because God is in it with us. Where is God sending you to be a light to help others see Him?
If you downloaded Write The Word: Salvation bookmarks when first published,
please note the following correction for this week:
the verse for September 24th should be Hebrews 9:28, not verse 29!
We apologize … and thank you for understanding!
We invite you to visit their website to learn more
about their excellent resources for Handwriting, Spelling, Science, and Guided Reading!
