Isaiah 49:6 He says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

From our perspective it’s interesting that the early Church didn’t pick up on this and similar passages until after Peter’s dramatic encounter with Cornelius in Acts 10, and they were slow about it even then. Today, far too many Gentile Christians ignore the first part of this verse and forget that Jesus came to restore the tribes of Jacob, that is, Israel. We are so prone to exclude others for one excuse or another, thinking that will somehow “leave more for us.” That shows we have no grasp at all of the infinity of God! Infinity divided by any number at all is still infinity, so there is literally no limit at all to the number of people God can accommodate in heaven, if they will but repent and believe. Jesus did say that comparatively few will find the way, (Matthew 7:13-14) but that is because people tend to love their sin more than they love the truth. Conversely, John was shown “a great multitude that no one could count,” rejoicing before God in heaven. (Revelation 7:9) It is certainly not our business to set limits on God’s grace! We are to be true to our calling to be witnesses of Christ, (Acts 1:8) proclaiming salvation by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9) for all who will repent and believe. (Mark 1:15)

This is of course the story of my life, as an American pastor in Japan. I also have good friends who are physical descendants of Abraham, with whom I share faith in the Messiah. I constantly see people trying to exclude others for various reasons, hardly any of them valid. Being such a mixture of cultures myself, I am an object lesson that externals don’t matter. That comes as a shock to some people who meet me! This church is unique in being bilingual, but at the moment we happen to have only two nations represented. In the past we have had people from half a dozen countries. Now that I think about it, we currently have people who weren’t born in the country of their citizenship, as well as people of mixed ethnicity. I guess we’re a pretty good “melting pot” after all! However, I’m not to “rest on my laurels,” but actively seek all who will repent and believe, without erecting artificial barriers of any kind.

Father, thank You for Your inclusive heart. I ask for grace to reach those who exclude themselves, for one reason or another. Use me to reveal to them that You love them as much as You do me, and You desire intimacy with them as much as You do with me, so that all the lies of the enemy may be defeated and many people brought into Your family, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!