“I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 8:11
Jesus was clear from the earliest days of His earthly ministry…. His Kingdom is open to people from every nation, language, and ethnic group. God’s Kingdom isn’t defined by genealogy, nationality, or ethnic history. Rather, it’s built on faith in Jesus, the Lord’s Salvation. Our Redeemer. We can’t buy an invitation to the Kingdom or earn one. The invitation is given freely to everyone who will listen. Everyone at every age and stage who turns away from their sins and turns to Jesus as Lord is welcomed into the eternal joy of God’s Kingdom.
This is truly good news! God’s Kingdom doesn’t discriminate based on nationality, ethnicity, race, or social status. It’s a Kingdom of grace with one entrance – faith in Jesus Christ. As we celebrate this, please think about the challenge built into this good news…. How will those far off people ever find out about their invitation? Nobody will come from east or west unless Christians go and tell them the Good News! Today, there are estimated to be nearly 7,400 ethnic groups in the world who really don’t have anyone to tell them about Jesus and invite them into God’s Kingdom. That’s 3.4 BILLION people who don’t have sufficient churches, ministries, Bibles, or missions to make it likely they’ll ever hear that God loves them and Jesus died for them.
Jesus gave us a command to go and make disciples of all nations. That command (Matthew 28:18-20) is called the Great Commission. Every follower of Jesus has a role to play in the Great Commission. That includes you! We all have a responsibility to pray for these groups and to pray for Christians to go to them with hope and the words of life. To learn about missions and financially support the work of missions. To encourage those who go and welcome them when they return. And possibly, to go ourselves. What’s your part in helping the nations to know? What are you called to do? If you don’t yet know, start learning about missions and praying for the nations until you have clarity! #FollowJesus