Daily Affirmations - Day 4 - To Whom I Belong - So That They May Know
Day 4: So that they may know
“As for the foreigner who does not belong to Your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of Your name— for they will hear of Your great name and Your mighty hand and Your outstretched arm— when they come and pray toward this temple, then hear from heaven, Your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner asks of You, so that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears Your Name” (1 Kings 8:41-43).
Sovereign Lord, Creator of all, well may we ask like the psalmist, what is mankind that You are mindful of them, human beings that You care for them? (Psalm 8:4).
Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the skies (Psalm 36:5). And it covers all— You cause Your sun to rise on the evil and the good, and send rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:45).
Truly, Lord, Your mercies extend beyond all boundaries of human reasoning, human esteem, human delineation. You love the forgotten man as much as the majestic king; the vilest offender as much as the praiseworthy citizen.
You invite all to come to You, for indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins (Ecclesiastes 7:20). And it is Your will that all of us turn to You and away from our unrighteousness (Ezekiel 18:23, 2 Peter 3:9).
Who then is qualified, Lord, to brand others, to despise them as outsiders and to discard them as unworthy of Your notice— beyond Your grace? Who has an exclusive claim to the mercy You extend through Christ Jesus our Lord?
Help us not to be like the proud and the self righteous— those who label and marginalize, who despise the tax collectors and sinners of our day (Mark 2:15-16). Help us to be like King Solomon, who desired to share Your grace and glory with the stranger and the “different.”
Not only did Solomon signal his intent to welcome the foreigner who does not belong to Your people…, but he prayed an astounding prayer on their behalf: When they come and pray toward this temple, then hear from heaven, Your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner asks of You so that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your own people… (1 Kings 8:42-43).
O Lord, may we be as concerned for Your honor and Your renown beyond our own confines! You have shown us that those who understand the extent of Your grace in their own forgiveness do indeed love much (Luke 7:47 - ESV).
May we truly grasp Your great love and forgiveness and Your sustaining providence in our own lives. May we love much, and serve You by serving others in gratitude and humility. So that they may know You.
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