What is the name of the main street in Canton, Ohio? In what part of England is Heckmondwike? If you do not know the answers, it means you are a stranger to Canton and most likely an alien to England.
Now, fortunately, it is not a sin to be a stranger and an alien to these two cities, but Paul points out to us that it is a tragedy to be an alien from the commonwealth of Israel and a stranger from the covenants of promise.
He goes on to explain that if we are, then we have no hope and we are without God in the world. This shows us the magnitude of the tragedy of not knowing.
Now we may take comfort in the fact that we are not aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and we are no stranger from the covenants of promise, for we have been baptized into Christ, we have put on Christ and therefore we are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.
What about our neighbors? Do they know? What about those at work? What about our classmates at school? Do we have friends who are aliens and strangers, who have no hope and are without God in the world?
Do we care that they are in a precarious position? Many of them do not even know they are in danger. Do we care? Are we anxious to share the hope of Israel with those we know? Many seem to have the attitude, let them die, let them alone, let them perish.
Could this attitude be pleasing to our Heavenly Father who has so graciously called us? He did call us, for Jesus tells us that “no man comes to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him.” We could take the attitude that we do not want to share our glorious hope with others because we might be casting our pearls before swine.
Do we really have the right to prejudge who are swine in God’s eyes? Ananias would never in his wildest dreams have ever thought to preach to Saul of Tarsus, but God had called Saul to be a chosen vessel unto Him. Peter would never have thought to share his hope with the likes of a Roman centurion, but God sent Peter to baptize Cornelius.
We do not really know who God is calling and who He is not. It is up to us to share our wonderful hope with everyone we meet in whatever way we can. All we can do is plant and water, God gives the increase. But if we do not sow, we do not reap. Who does God have in the world to preach the true Gospel to others? Most of the people in the world, unfortunately, do not even know what the gospel is that God preached to Abraham in just seven words.
Do we have any right to treat our hope as our exclusive property and keep it secret from those around us? We really should be so excited and so thankful that of all the teeming millions, yea, billions of people living today, God has called us, chosen us and is depending on us to share His good news with everyone we meet.
Paul told us that we are to be ambassadors for Christ The Lord was moved with compassion toward those to whom he preached the gospel, and he turned to his disciples and said, “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few: Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he may send forth laborers into his harvest.”
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One