November 10
November 10
There is no ethnic, geographic, social, or economic partiality with God.
It is hard to grasp the glorious scenes that await us in the final kingdom, when we will stand before the Lord’s throne. We will be surrounded by people of every tribe, tongue, and nation, from every period of history and every place on the globe. We will stand in perfect unity, all our divisions gone, our differences now unable to separate us. We will all stand unworthy of what we received, because God’s grace is the ultimate unifier. We will not think about our differences because our hearts will be consumed with worship and our mouths filled with endless praise. Our eyes will be not on one another, but on the majestic one who sits on the throne. And we will sing songs of his glory and of his faithful delivery of every promise of grace and victory. We will worship with those who came before us and those who came after us, all together grateful to be chosen to be part of this eternal celebration of the conquering King, the Savior, the final Lamb of sacrifice. With hearts at rest, we will know for certain that we are finally home.
One particular moment in Acts points us to this final glory. God chose Peter to extend grace to Cornelius, “a devout man who feared God” (Acts 10:2). God made it clear that, as prophesied in the Old Testament, his redeeming grace flows beyond the believing Jews. Remember: the covenant promise to Abraham was that through him all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Listen to the gospel message that Peter preached to Cornelius’s household: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:34–35). Let these wonderful words ring in your ears and in your heart: “God shows no partiality.” May that be true of us as well. If God showed partiality, none of us would be in his family or have a guaranteed place in his final kingdom. May we never let prejudice or partiality of any kind get in the way of our ministry of the gospel of forgiving, accepting, and reconciling grace. No one has a special “in” with the Lord. We are his only by grace and grace alone.
I love what happened in the middle of Peter’s gospel sermon: “While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles” (Acts 10:44–45). There was no prejudicial pause from the Lord. Before Peter even completed his message, the Spirit fell on his hearers. Jews and Gentiles stand before the Lord equally unworthy of his favor, but accepted by his grace. There is no partiality with our Lord.