God's Love Goes Beyond Borders

Our summer theme at Camp Metigoshe is God's love goes beyond borders! I wrote this piece for our Thursday day theme of God's love goes beyond borders!

Acts 16: 1-15

Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they traveled form town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace and the next day we went on to Neapolis. From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia,. And we stayed there several days. On the sabbath we went outside the city gate to to river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us.

I think of going beyond borders in a couple of different ways. One way that we can go beyond borders is by stepping out of our comfort zone. This could look like talking to those who you don’t normally talk to, to reaching out to the new kid in school, and many other examples. There’s also going beyond borders, literally. When we go to other countries or even cities or states, it’s the experience of a new place and sometimes a new culture. The way that I want to focus on this topic today is looking at all of them, collectively.

In our story today, Paul goes on a journey. They were going to tell people about God but as they were headed to one city, God told them to go to a different land. As they shared the gospel with those around them, they met a woman named Lydia. When she heard that God loves her so so much, she wanted to affirm that in her life and was baptized.

Now, when I hear this story, and going beyond borders, it makes me think that I should be going to share the news about God to all those around me. Maybe we should be doing that, but one way that we can go beyond borders is by simply sharing God’s love. Before Paul set out on this journey, there was the thought that God was for Jews and only for them. If you weren’t a Jew, you were "out". Before the journey, the view was “My God” but this changed into an “Our God.” God is for everyone. For you and for me. For those that look like us and those that don’t. For those that believe and those who don’t. God is for everyone. God is an inclusive God. One that doesn’t discriminate. So, what does this mean for us?

God’s love is for everyone. It’s for the weak, the strong, the vulnerable, the sick, the healthy, the rich and the poor, it’s for you and for me. For those we know and those we don’t know. We can go beyond borders to share God’s love with others, maybe by; standing up for the vulnerable, by holding a door open for a stranger, by volunteering, by being kind to everyone. God’s love is not just for you and for me. It’s for everyone. God’s love goes beyond the borders of social systems, of physical boundaries, of our comfort zones. God’s love goes beyond. So, let’s share the love because everyone is loved by God.

Better Together,

Jess