A Higher Call

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(Acts 22:21,22) And [God] said to me, "Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles." Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, "Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live."

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The Bible's simplest statements can pierce us with their stark realities. In God's love, He commissions us to leave our comforts in order to love people outside our own circles. The people who hated Paul feared that God could also love people who disliked them. They resisted the idea that God would send "one of us" to "any of them." But Paul, having obeyed God's call, found God's love to be far greater and more satisfying than the fear and hate he'd previously shared with them.

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Reading this ancient story, it's easy to be smugly shocked by this crowd's bigotry and irrationality. In my world, though, how do I respond to watching other people obey God's call to love hard-to-love people? How do I react to exploring the depths of God's broken heart over people who are suffering in worlds far from mine?

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Savior, I remember that You were fully justified if You'd abandoned me. I remember that instead You sacrificed Your body and blood so You could justify my salvation, my forgiveness, and my adoption into Your family. How can I express my thanks for You today?