June 12, 2020
Acts 8
One of the most important core values at Grace Church is "Everyone is Welcome." Our world loves to make the distinction between "US" and "THEM" but the gospel wants to create a community where there is no more "THEM." Everyone is invited to be "US." The best way to turn an enemy into a friend is to make them a brother or sister in the Lord. There is no stronger bond of unity than being part of the same family. In Acts 8 we see two racial and cultural boundaries being broken by the gospel.
The first was the Samaritan boundary. The Jews despised "THEM" so much they would walk additional miles around their neighborhood so they would not be contaminated. A Jew would not allow a Samaritan's shadow to cross theirs. And just in case they had some Samaritan dust on their clothes, they would symbolically shake out their clothes before they entered the Holy Land. Yet the gospel changed everything, and Samaritans became part of "US", brothers and sisters in the Lord.
Then an angel breaks up the party in Samaria and sends Philip south on a desert road. There he meets someone from Africa, another one of "THEM." This important official is reading Isaiah 53 and he does not understand it. After Philip explains that incredible passage, this Ethiopian official becomes a follower of King Jesus. And as a result, the gospel family now includes Africans in the "US."
Today we have an incredible opportunity to talk about substantial issues of race. But before we talk, it would be best for us to listen and understand the stories from "THEM." Then after hearing their stories and feeling their pain, we need to tell the story of Jesus and how he came into the world to make "US" one family.
We live in unprecedented days of opportunity; share and live the gospel winsomely and boldly.
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