NO LONGER OUTCASTS

 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:10 (NIV)

               The other night we watched the movie “Babe”, the story of Babe Ruth, the famous baseball player. Babe was a great baseball player, but lived a sad life. He was abandoned by his parents and placed into a home for wayward boys. Baseball became his ticket out. All of his life his greatest desire was to belong, to fit in, to be accepted. In some ways, Babe never grew up; he remained a small, frightened boy encased in a man’s body. Although he had great success as a baseball player, his life was filled with heartache.

               Babe Ruth’s story could be multiplied thousands of times over. Many people spend their entire lives trying to be accepted, trying to fit in. They may look successful on the outside, but they are hollow on the inside. They may project an image of power and ability, yet still be frightened and insecure on the inside. Many people live their whole life without ever finding their place. They live as outsiders, longingly looking in through a window that separates them from the belonging their desire.

               In Ephesians 2, Paul expounds on the condition that all of humanity finds itself when they are separated from God. Those who live in rebellion against God are truly outsiders and outcasts. Paul describes their situation in several ways. They are without a savior, separated from Christ. Most people are looking for a savior of some kind. They are looking for something or someone that can give their life meaning and purpose. But everything that the world offers falls short of the goal; they leave a person feeling unsatisfied and longing for more.

               Paul also said that a person separated from Christ is excluded from the blessings of God. God had chosen the people of Israel to be the vehicle through which the entire world would be blessed. God’s covenant relationship with Israel guaranteed the blessing that God promised. But when a person rejects Christ, they also have forfeited the blessings of God. Many people today want God’s blessings, but they don’t want God to interfere with their life. That stance will always keep a person on the outside.

               Paul went on to say that a person who has rejected Christ is without hope in the world. Hope is an essential quality for a person to thrive in life. Without hope a person will emotionally shrivel up and die. People today put their hope in politics, in economics, in experiences, but they all fail to provide the kind of hope that will weather the storms of life.

               Finally Paul states that a person who has rejected Christ is without God. Every person on the face of the earth has a God consciousness. It is a kind of void that must be filled. In order to fill that void, people chase after all kinds of gods. Some of these gods are religious and many are not. They all share one thing; they are not big enough to fill the void.

               Without Christ, we all remain outcasts and outsiders. We were created to live in relationship with God. When we try to live as if God does not exist or does not have a place in our lives, we isolate ourselves. Even though we might “fit in” to the society around us, we never truly find fulfillment and satisfaction. Instead, we continue to chase after an illusive dream of some ideal life. It is only in humble submission to Christ that we can find what we are really looking for; what we were created for.

               Paul tells us that when we put our faith in Christ we become transformed.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) The transformation that comes from putting our faith in Christ changes our status and moves us from being outcasts to being embraced and loved by God. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. Ephesians 2:19-20 (NIV) Through Christ we become part of an international, global, eternal family. Not only are we accepted, but we are guaranteed a place in God’s kingdom that can never be taken away from us. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:3-5 (NIV)

               All of Babe Ruth’s life he wanted to have a family. He tried to fill that void through a failed marriage. He tried to fill that void through baseball and his teammates. He tried to fill that void through his fans. But in the end all of those things failed him. He never truly felt like he belonged. He never found what he was looking for.

               When we put our faith in Christ we can stop looking. Our basic need to belong, to be loved, to have a place in a family are fulfilled. When we put our faith in Christ we become children of God. When we place our trust in Jesus we can begin to experience the breadth and width and depth of the love of God. In Christ, we are outcasts no longer.

1 John 3:1 (NIV)
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.