The Sioux And The Jew
Isaiah wrote, It is too light a thing that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. (Isa. 49:6) The universality of Gods grace is dictated by the very nature of matters. God is so great, His love so all encompassing, that it is too light a thing that Jesus should die for the Jew only. He died also for the Sioux, and you.
And so the commission was Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature And ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Mk. 16:15 Acts 2:8) The Apostles, so commissioned, were challenged to take the gospel to all nations so that whosoever will may have eternal life. I fear we have assigned the success of this effort too much to miraculous powers manifested by the Apostles, and not enough to their love for mankind, their sense of dedication and responsibility, and their willingness to die, if needs be, that others might live. (Read Rom. 1:14-f; 1 Cor. 9:l6-23) Paul, Barnabas, Peter, Timothy, etc., could not be partakers of the divine nature and co-workers with a world-loving God, and then settle down in Jerusalem and let the world go to hell.
In the Colossian letter Paul wrote of the gospel which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; the gospel which was preached to every creature which is under heaven. (1:6,23) I do not understand this to say that every single individual had heard the gospel (the Greek is in all creation A.S.), but rather that they had done what Christ commanded— gone indiscriminately to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews. Anything less than this was too light—too incompatible with the divine charge.
I do not believe that God commands every Christian to make a preaching trip to every nation under heaven. I do not believe that a local church fails its purpose if it is not financing a foreign missionary. But a so-called love for souls that does not reach beyond social lines, color lines, and national boundaries, is too light a thing. While there are yet millions of our brothers in Adam who have never even heard of Christ, there is no room for complacency.
The usual excuse for lack of interest in world-wide evangelism is charity begins at home-- there are so many unsaved in this community. Take note —the people who offer such excuses are doing the least to reach those lost souls at home; and the ones who work hard to save next-door neighbors are also vitally interested in taking the gospel to all the world.
The usual substitute for genuine Christian concern is token support of institutional machinery —the Gospel Blimp —send $5. and then congratulate yourself on the million-dollar job we are doing.
The usual end of such an attitude is a dying church —dying souls with whom Gods will was too light a thing.