READ: Isaiah 56:1-8
REFLECT: In Isaiah 56:1-8 one of the new things God is doing is announcing that eunuchs and foreigners would join God’s family. This must have angered and surprised many in ethnocentric Israel. It was one thing to suggest that nations would one day obtain blessing from their relationship with God’s people, but it was quite another to assert that they would stand before God on equal spiritual footing.
To eunuchs God promised that even though they would produce no earthly families, they would enjoy all the blessings of God’s heavenly family. To foreigners God essentially says that faithfulness was more important than bloodline.
The point is that God's plan (the Gospel of Jesus Christ) would mean that those who were once outsiders would become insiders; those who were disadvantaged would gain an advantage. Isn't that amazing? There is a real sense of restoration, wholeness and inclusion that is the result of God's work and grace in the lives of those who live by faith.
Praise God today for including you in his family. Ask him for the ability to grow in faithfulness.
By Geoff Horn, associate Pastor at Green Valley Church. Send feedback to geoff@greenvalleychurch.com or comment on this blog post.
