Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”
NL Daily Devotion for Wednesday, May 26, 2021
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
I remember being troubled as a child thinking about the idea of needing to be a Christian to be “saved.” What about all those people who never heard about Jesus? Were they all going to hell? I don’t remember how I resolved the issue in my preadolescent mind way back then. Probably I just ignored it. Now on the verge of turning 50, my views have changed drastically. Yes, I am a Christian. But no, I don’t necessarily believe that the only way to access God and God’s promises is through becoming a Christian. Maybe I’m shooting myself in the foot. But here’s the thing:
I don’t believe I can limit God. Or that any person or institution or system of beliefs can limit God. If God wants to reach into someone’s life and transform it, God can, will, and does. And if that person is a Muslim or a Hindu or (gasp!) an atheist it makes no difference to God.
Jesus blew the doors wide open for anyone not in God’s “chosen people” to receive God’s unbounded love and grace. Not because the doors needed to be blown open for God—those doors didn’t exist for God—but that the closed minds of people needed to be blown open for them realize God’s love was for everyone, not just for the ones who considered themselves chosen.
Was God’s mystery deliberately held back from the Gentiles? I think not. I think they experienced God one way or another no matter who or where or when they were. And anyway, that’s none of my business. My business is to acknowledge that every single one of us is an heir, a member of the same body, and a sharer in God’s promises, whether they even know it or not.
When did I first learn about God? How have my ideas changed over time?
![1 Kings 17:1-16 [17-24], God’s Care for the Widow](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56b39b61ab48de92d991a40a/bf37035e-33d5-439f-a0d6-a68b02d0f1bc/24-11-03.jpg)
