Every Tongue, Every Nation

I love watching the Olympics, especially the Winter Games. And one part of this global event that I am sure not to miss is the opening ceremony, specifically, the Parade of Nations. The dress of different nations, the culture, the expressions, all fascinate me. I see in the uniqueness of each person's smile and shape and color of their faces, the reflection of their Creator. I'm struck by the design of the banner they carry proudly on their entry into the stadium. And I'm impacted by the sameness imputed by God that we all share, even given our great differences: a capacity for desire, the ability to dream, the giftings and talents that can be developed.

It makes me wonder.

Will there be a "Parade of Nations" on the day he returns? Will we see among us on that day, Haitians, Germans, Israelis, Arabs, Chinese, and every other tribe and nation? While I may not be able to elucidate the details on this, I do know one thing: God desires it -

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.¹

Jesus' final instructions to his apostles were to go into every nation and see that they come to the knowledge of Him.² And His desire is that those who the Father gives Him would be with Him. This has always been the heart of God. But not all of us are called to "go into all the nations" and make disciples. Not all of us have been called in this manner to be instruments of God's glory covering all the earth. But that does not mean we don't have a part in redemption's story.

Those of us not called specifically to go to another country as an evangelist can still evangelize by proxy by witnessing to those who come from other nations into our sphere of influence. Evangelism by proxy is biblical. Consider Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch.³ This man was heading back to his homeland when he encountered Philip ... and the Gospel. The one who could not bear physical children was on his way to sharing the Gospel with his people and, by God's design, bearing children for the kingdom.

Remember the day of Pentecost? There were gathered there Jews from every nation under heaven who would that day - I love God's perfect timing in His perfect plan - hear the Gospel of Jesus and bring that Gospel back to the nations they had come from. They would be set on a course to fulfill God's original plan for salvation to come out of Israel into every nation.

And what about Simon from Cyrene?⁵ He saw the Christ going to his death on the cross and even bore that cross Jesus carried. How could this not impact him? How could he not, under God's gracious sovereignty, come to find out more of this man on the road to Golgotha? I have to believe that this ancient Greek colony of Cyrene located in north-eastern Libya would soon be watered by the Gospel of Jesus.

Now, you should know this: there are those of us, even if not called to another nation, even if not knowing anyone at this point from another nation, who can pray. We can pray for opportunity, we can pray for specific nations, we can pray for those who labor in the fields of nations. God seeks those who will stand in the gap to see this accomplished.⁶ Your prayers may have more impact on world evangelism than you know.

None of us are exempt from involvement in God's great plan of redemption.

If we are to seek first his kingdom, this is part of what we should be seeking - to see all peoples come to know the Father.⁷ This is God's heart, his desire, his "end game." And His plan will be fulfilled: his glory will be spread over all the earth⁸, and he will be exalted in every nation⁹. I want to be a part of that plan, and I believe you do too.

References

¹ Revelation 7:9

² Matthew 28:19 - Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

³ Acts 8:26-38

⁴ Acts 2:5 - Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.

⁵ Matthew 27:32 - As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross.

⁶ Ezekiel 22:30 - "I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one."

⁷ Revelation 21:3 - And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God."

⁸ Isaiah 6:3 - And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

⁹ Psalms 46:10 - He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”