Day 2: From Outsider to Insider (Ephesians 2)

 

DAY 2 

(Click here for DAY 1)

January 18, 2022 - 7:15AM 

Worship Song: Doxology // Amen by Phil Whickham and How He Loves by John Mark McMillan feat. Kim Walker-Smith

Reading: Ephesians 2

That is why you are no longer foreigners and outsiders but citizens together with God's people and members of God's family. - Ephesians 2:19

I am no stranger to feeling like an outsider.  Being born a "pastor's kid" immediately set me apart from other regular kids who had fathers that had steady incomes and familiar titles. In elementary, aside from the usual which is being sick, my excuse letters were about me having to be absent from school because of important church activities. One time, I had to explain to my Math teacher that I had to be absent again because my dad was to be ordained a bishop. I bet no other student in the school has ever given her that reason for being absent before. 

In high school, at a very young age of 12,  I had to start living away from my family as I went to school in Iloilo City which was 3 hours away from my hometown. I stayed at the dorm which was located inside the school. My classmates were daughters of politicians and rich businessmen. When I went to the mall with some of my classmates, one of them was permanently accompanied by a bodyguard who was "licensed to kill." As a small-town girl, this was very alien to me. I had to ask myself several times, "What am I doing here? I don't belong here." 

In college, I moved to another city. This time further as it was in a different island. People spoke a dialect that was unfamiliar and it wasn't until I could speak it fluently myself that people started being nicer to me. 

In both cities, I did not have family and I lived on my own. 

So I know how it feels like to be an outsider so well. Even many years later when I had to go back to my hometown after the death of my dad, and after living away for more than 20 years, I once again felt like an outsider. 

It's not the best feeling in the world. You spend time observing people, their habits, understanding their culture, and figuring out how you can fit in or add value to an already thriving ecosystem. But slowly, with some time and a lot of opening up, they start welcoming you in, and finally  you know for sure that you're already an insider. 

In high school, I knew that I was "in" when they started inviting me for sleepovers because I worked hard on projects, not just once but several times. In college, it was only when I started speaking the dialect fluently did I finally have meaningful relationships with them. And even when I went back to my hometown, it was only when I really immersed myself in ministry did I feel at home again. 

In other words, work was involved. I had to prove myself so that I could get in. 

But guess what? It's not like that in God's family. You know Who had to work to get us in? Jesus. 

Jesus died on the cross so that we, who were separated from God by sin, could be reconciled to Him. Ephesians 2:8-10 says that it is by grace that we have been saved through faith. We cannot take credit for being saved because it is a gift from God. The salvation we received is not a reward for the good things we have done. No amount of good works could have saved us if Christ did not die for us. 

It is truly only by grace - undeserved yet freely and lovingly given. 

My dad would always give this illustration during one of his homilies before. He would say, before Christ died on the cross for us, we were on the outside looking in. (This usually gives me a picture of eating inside Jollibee and a beggar from outside would knock on the glass and ask for food.) That beggar was us before. But now, because of this gift, we can come inside and dine at the table with Him. 

From being an alien having no rights, to having all the rights as a citizen. 

From an outcast to an insider. 

From a stranger to a family member. 

Prayer: Father God, thank You for taking us in. We do not deserve this position of honor, being members of Your family, and even being united with Christ, yet here we are, experiencing all the benefits of being Your children. I pray Lord for those who feel like they are still outside looking in. May the Good News of the gospel reach them. May You send instruments of Your salvation to them. May we, Your children, who You will use to reach out to them, connect them to Your kindness that will bring them to repentance. Help us shine Your light and love to them so they can truly know, feel, and understand, that we are all part of God's Family. Amen.