Today’s Podcast
Today’s Bible reading plan:
Read it in a year – 1 John 1-3
see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)
Today’s Devotional
Luke 13:24-30
Jesus: Strive to enter through the narrow door now, because many people—hear Me on this—will try to enter later on and will not be able to. Imagine you want to enter someone’s home, but you wait until after the homeowner has shut the door. Then you stand outside and bang on the door, and you say, “Sir, please open the door for us!” But he will answer, “I don’t know where you’re from.”
Then you’ll say, “Just a minute. We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.” But he’ll say, “Sorry, I have no idea where you’re from. Leave me, all of you evildoers.” Then you’ll see something that will make you cry and grind your teeth together—you’ll see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves will be on the outside looking in.
And then you’ll see people streaming in from east and west, from north and south, gathering around the table in the kingdom of God, but you’ll be on the outside looking in. That’s how it will be; some are last now who will be first then, and some are first now who will be last then.
What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?
As these words came from the Master’s mouth those centuries ago, the people around Him would not have received them very well at all. These were radical, brutal, vicious words coming from Jesus’ mouth. Why would I think that? Look at the end of the message. “You’ll see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you will be on the outside looking in. [and oh, by the way,] all the people you call outsiders now, those living in the east and west and north and south, all those Gentiles, will be gathered around the table with God, but you’ll still be on the outside looking in.”
Those were fighting words to the crowd gathered around Jesus.
We talk about racism and bigotry in our country, but despite a few pockets of radical racism, our nation really is one of the most diverse and tolerant in the world, if not the most diverse and tolerant on this planet. We cry about intolerance and we bemoan the slavery that happened in the early part of our country’s history, but today, for the most part, our citizens view humans as humans, not by the color of their skin or their nationality or gender or religion. We are fairly tolerant.
If you don’t believe that, buy a ticket to some of our sister countries around the world and make a few observations. First, you’ll find that no other country has as lenient an immigration policy as ours. Second, you’ll discover that as a whole we are not racist. Yes, there are some racists. Yes, there are some bigots. Yes, there are some extremists in just about every community. But frankly, I think that makes up a relatively small percentage of our nation.
Third, most other countries do have an intolerance problem. Whatever group is in power has little tolerance for the other groups in the nation, whoever they might be or whatever agenda they might have. Few other nations around the world have peaceful transfers of power from one party to the next. Although, this year, I’m beginning to wonder if we can talk about our peaceful transition of power anymore. But other countries openly practice genocide. Human rights are rights only for those that look and act and think the way those do that hold the seats of power in the nation. Everyone else is considered less than human and give few if any rights.
And it was the same in Jesus’ day. Racism abounded. The Jews believed they were better than anyone else. And here Jesus was telling them that all these other people would be sitting at the banquet table in the kingdom of God with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, their patriarchs, while that looked in with their mouths watering and their eyes bulging. How could this be? They were the chosen? What was this radical preaching that Jesus gave? How could God let outsiders into His kingdom and exclude His chosen people, those with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob’s blood flowing through their veins?
But then and now, entrance into the kingdom of God has never been about pedigree. God doesn’t care who gave birth to you. He doesn’t care about your lineage. Then and now, God doesn’t care what church you belong to. These were temple goers. They partook in all the right rituals. They brought their sacrifices and put money in the offering plates. They sang their songs and prayed their prayers. These were not bad people, but for God, these men and women had become the outsiders looking in.
Why? Because they failed to build a relationship with God. They failed to understand He gave His Son out of love for them. They failed to understand the very heart of the message God wanted them to share with the world. The message that the kingdom of God is near and all the commandments can be boiled down to two, love God and love your neighbor. Just do those two things. But in their selfishness, they couldn’t. They couldn’t give up their selfish desires.
So which side of the glass will you be on? Will you sit at the banquet table or be staring through the glass on the outside looking in? Only you and God know the answer to that question.
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