I Feel I Am Not Acceptable to God and Peopleনমুনা

So often we build new walls behind which we hide

Jesus opened the gate at Calvary. Those already inside can now go out and invite those on the outside. They can go out and be ministers of reconciliation as they help people be reconciled to God and one another. They can share the good news that it is no longer necessary to die in despair outside the wall because there is room inside.

Look at Luke 15:1-2 - The tax collectors and sinners were all in the habit of listening to Jesus. Our commission is to go through the city gate with Jesus, the Crucified One, in search of those who are lost and unclean - the "tax collectors" and sinners. That is what God has called us to do: to go out into the streets, the roads, and the lanes and to invite people to come into his kingdom. God sends us out to make disciples of all the nations. He sends us to rave clubs, casinos, golf courses, our neighbours, hairdressers, civil service workers, the poor in the squatter camps, yuppies with their expensive cars and overcrowded programs, realtors and beggars. All of them should be invited to come and stay in the city. That was the purpose of the cross.

It is so tragic that many of us who were once on the other side of the wall and now live inside the city are simply not reaching out to those on the other side of the wall. We have built new walls, and the gates have been closed to ensure those outside can't come in. They are walls of comfort, privacy, prejudice, lovelessness, and a disapproving attitude that doesn't come from Jesus (Rom.12:3). Many Christians became prisoners of social and cultural walls. They may even separate themselves from others because of language and ethnicity. Without realising it, we have built new walls around ourselves and made it clear that those who are lost and feel rejected, are not really welcome. Sometimes, we are not even aware of their existence. Are there walls that have been built around your own life that exclude others and only allow a small group of "chosen ones" on the inside? It is these walls that ultimately exclude sinners.