Monday – Gospels and Acts

Reading – Acts 11

Highlight Verse:

“When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.””
‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭11‬:‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I’m old enough to remember much worse racial tension. Despite growing up in California, there was enough prejudice against Hispanics that my dad, a full-blooded Mexican, refused to use Spanish at home.

By the time I was in college, the trend had reversed, and I could have gotten extra financial aide by claiming my Hispanic heritage. Since I appeared white, it didn’t seem right to me.

Times changed.

Just as they did in New Testament times.

The early Christians realized that God loved all races, and the Gospel was for the whole world.

That was a radical concept back then.

We do well to remember it now.

We in America have a tendency to think that our brand of Christianity is the only way or at least the best way.

The truth is there are churches overseas who send missionaries to the United States because they are concerned that we are too wrapped up in ourselves to see the Gospel.

Politics are important and may have eternal effects when it comes to the ability to spread the Gospel.

But the effects of the Gospel itself are always eternal.

While I am all in favor of patriotism, community pride, and civic responsibility, we should never let that get in the way of the eternal value of the good news of forgiveness and new life that comes through Jesus to the whole world.

We should always remember that we are citizens of heaven first.

Which do you spend more time trying to advance, your political agenda or the Gospel?
What civic responsibilities do you think a citizen of heaven should have?