During the 2016 Olympics in Rio, one of the brightest stories was the International Olympic Committee’s decision to field the first-ever team of Refugee Olympic Athletes, a team of athletes who have no country. Thomas Bach, president of the IOC, explained the decision: “Having no national team to belong to, having no flag to march behind, having no national anthem to be played, these refugee athletes will be welcomed to the Olympic Games with the Olympic flag and with the Olympic Anthem. They will have a home together with all the other 11,000 athletes.” Ten Olympians comprised the squad—refugees from South Sudan, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Syria.
Those who had no home found a home.
God’s heart has always been for those on the fringes, those often left out. He told Abram: “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). Abram left all that was familiar so that ultimately all people would have the opportunity to know a true spiritual home and place of belonging. God saw our need, and He provided.
When God promised Abram a vast swath of land (Genesis 12:7), His heart wasn’t only for Abram and Israel. Rather, God told Abram: “All the families on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3). Through His lineage—through Jesus—all who needed God’s welcome would receive it. Through Him, even those on the fringes would find a home.
God extends kindness and goodness to us, to heal and restore us and call us friends. But He also intends to use us to offer this same kindness and goodness to others. He intends to bless all the families of the earth.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Jonah 1:1–2:10
More:
Read Exodus 19:6 and consider what it means for God to call Israel a “kingdom of priests.”
Next:
What are the implications for you when you consider that believers in Jesus “are his holy priests” offering “spiritual sacrifices that please God” (1 Peter 2:5)? How are you extending God’s kindness and goodness to others?
robinb on June 3, 2017 at 12:40 am
God will take you away from everything that familiar.
don777 on June 3, 2017 at 7:56 am
We are to trust in the Lord every day all day in what ever situation we are in. Think about it this way, Time is an unfamiliar territory. Unknown. We are just passing through this earth. We just Trust in the Lord. +>i
Gary Shultz on June 3, 2017 at 8:09 am
Hi Winn: A nice comparison. As Christians we are all in a country not our own and we do march under a different flag, we have a place, we have a purpose. One difference is we certainly know where our home is, the question is do we live like priests representing our home country? It is amazing how often we are like the nation of Israel in our inability to demonstrate to the world we are here on temporary assignment, come with us to a better land. A land free from sin’s grasp, a land of God’s choosing. It may appear we are as “dug in” to this world as they; not a glowing advertisement. And, yes Winn you are correct, extending God’s kindness and goodness is how it is done. The offering, the surrender, the sacrifice that pleases God. Not just knowing what it is that God desires, but the doing of it. And, the doing of it over the long haul, a life given and open to God’s control. May we find the honor of marching under that flag. Thanks Winn