"That you should be mine..."

The nation of Israel was God's chosen people. They were the ones the God claimed as His own. They were the ones that descended from Abraham and with whom the covenant of being a great nation was formed. They were the people that God intended to set apart and dwell among. They were the nation that God intended to use in order to change and save the world. They were the people that God wanted to be set apart and stand out from the other nations around. They were the nation that God desired to use to influence the godless nations. He said so. Many times. He told Moses countless times in the Torah (the first 5 books of the OT) that they were to be set apart, to be distinctly different, to be holy because He was and because they were His people specifically chosen and blessed. He told Moses countless times that they were not to live in the same godless, sinful and downright evil ways (such as sacrificing their children to a false god named Molech) that the other nations were living. And yet things fell apart and didn't work the way they were supposed to. Israel gave up. Instead of influencing and changing the other nations, they let the other nations change and influence them. Instead of remaining set apart and holy, they mixed with the other nations and were tainted by evil (not that they weren't tainted with evil/sin to begin with... they just were different due to having God as their leader and their king). They gave in to the peer pressure around them and ultimately lost the blessing and the closeness of God. 

Then things got shook up. Someone in the form of the long awaited Messiah (the one who was to save them from the rule of the Babylonians and then the Persians and then the Greeks and then the Romans) showed up. Yet he wasn't quite what they were expecting. They were expecting someone who would lead an army. Someone who would put up a military fight. Someone who was a little more impressive than a baby born in a stable, raised as a carpenter turned rabbi with radical teachings. But yet it was him. He had arrived. And then things got really shaken up. He offered the blessing of being a part of God's chosen people up to the ones who weren't descended from Abraham and Jacob. To the outcasts. To the unwanted. To the least of these. To the unclean. To the Gentiles. To the non-Israelite people. Crazy! Now why would the Messiah do such a thing? How could God possibly do that? Why would He do that? Did He lose His mind? 

Well... it all goes back to how the Israelites were supposed to influence and change the other nations. They were to be holy. They were to be set apart. They were to be a kingdom of priests. And they failed. They turned away from that purpose. And so God opened it up to others. He offered His gift of love, salvation and blessing to everyone. Not just the Israelites. He opened it up to the world. And it's a part of His plan to redeem the world. To bring the people of the world back to Himself. The Israelites were still a part of that blessing and that plan if they chose to be. But it wasn't just exclusively for them anymore. It was a worldwide gift now. And it still is. 

Now please understand that this is not in any way shape or form against the people of Israel, people of Jewish faith. I firmly believe that the people of Israel still have a role to play in the world and that they can still be used if they choose to be (just as everyone has to choose). This is my simply working through Scripture and retelling the story of missions and being set apart as a holy people. A people who are meant to spread the message of God's redeeming love. A people who are supposed to be a kingdom of priests reconciling the world to Him. 

I strongly believe that missions was not intended to happen at the beginning of time. I strongly believe that missions (spreading the Gospel to the nations) and the plan of redemption came as a result of Adam and Eve's sin in the garden. I strongly believe that the nation of Israel was to be the original group of missionaries in the world. And I strongly believe that when Jesus came He gave everyone - Jew and Gentile - the responsibility of spreading the Gospel.

Today we are called to be God's people. We are His to begin with. But we are called to respond to Him. We are called to choose whether or not we are going to set ourselves apart as a holy people, a kingdom of priests who live in such a way that others are drawn to Him. We, mankind as a whole, have been given the chance to be called His. To be formed into His special, blessed people. And He desires for everyone to be a part of that. Not just a chosen few or the lucky ones. Everyone. Every single person. Man. Woman. Old. Young. White. Black. Hispanic. Indian. Arab. Asian. Rich. Poor. Educated. Uneducated. EVERYONE. Am I making sense? Am I being clear enough? If not, how can I be clearer? Again... I am not out to start arguments. Or bash anyone. Or appear to be prejudiced. Trust me. I'm not. I just have such a burden to write about these things. To share my thoughts and beliefs as I work through what Scripture says and what it meant to the people of Israel or for the early church and for the Church and world today. WE ARE CALLED TO BE HIS PEOPLE. Plain and simple. No doubt about it. WE ARE CALLED TO BE HIS PEOPLE. We are supposed to be His. He wants us to be devoted to Him. He wants us to be completely and totally in love with Him to the point where we can't help but talk about Him all the time. To the point where we can't help but want to travel to the ends of the world (or our neighborhood) in order to share the joy and the love and the freedom that He gives us through His Son. To the point where we can't help but speak out against injustice. To the point where we can't help but make an impact on the world. 

WE ARE CALLED TO BE HIS PEOPLE..... He has claimed us... "That you should be mine"