Matthew 8:11–12 (NKJV): I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Jesus. Matthew 8:11–12
Hey, I’m Nathan, and this is Day 5 of 30 Days Watching Jesus. Followers of God have prided themselves for millennia because of their perceived status—they are insiders in the most significant way possible. Their status has secured for them blessings for both this life and the life to come. They, in light of this status, stand head-and-shoulders above the undeserving society of losers around them.
Or do they?
Apparently our pride—as God-adherents—and it’s accompanying declarations of advantage and security are deeply misguided. Apparently our obsession with our ‘spiritual’ status in God’s kingdom, has so blinded our eyes to the fact that there’s much more to faith than big talk, that we fail to notice the multitudes outside of our sacred silos who are true Jesus followers. Folks we’d never sit down to a meal with. Folks we cannot fathom spending a moment of eternity with. Folks so undeserving of grace that we cannot imagine it ever being extended to them. Yet, according to Jesus, in the final wrap up—these very ones will stream passed us into the kingdom, while we stand, ourselves unqualified, outcasts.
