2 Chronicles 6:12-42

“As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm—when he comes and prays toward this temple, then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you...” (2 Chronicles 6:32–33, NIV)

As Solomon dedicated the temple, he realized that it was not only for the nation of Israel. People from all nations would come and worship the LORD. God’s heart has always been for the entire world. God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. The Gospel message has gone out so that everyone who believes in Jesus Christ may be saved.

There is no longer an earthly temple for people to pray to. We now pray to the Father in heaven through Jesus Christ, for no one comes to the Father except through Him. But how will they come to Him unless they hear the Gospel?

“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!’” (Romans 10:14–15, NKJV)

There is a tendency among many believers to be silent concerning the Gospel. Perhaps we don’t want to offend or be rejected. Maybe we think we are unqualified. Maybe we are simply waiting for the perfect moment that never comes. But the truth is that people don’t usually come to Jesus unless somebody shares the Gospel with them. If we declare the good news, people may reject us. But God considers our feet to be beautiful because we are carrying His message to foreigners who need to hear it.

“Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.” (1 Peter 2:10, NLT)

Yesterday I spoke with a family member whose daughter has four children but will soon be adopting a fifth child from India. Likewise, in this season of gift giving, what better gift could we give to anyone than to make a foreigner a family member? To share with someone who is spiritually dead in sin the words of eternal life? To make a wanderer a worshiper?