Acts 17:26-28 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’
From the beginning Satan has done his best to divide, separate, and conquer. He, by tempting Eve and Adam, separated them from God and God’s relationship with them. (Genesis 3)
What are some lessons we need to see from this?
- 1.We MUST treat all humans with dignity and respect. ALL Mankind came from God and are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26). Further, we are all descendants of Noah from the flood (Genesis 6-9).
- 2.Man was united until God divided men into different cultures when he confounded their language in Genesis 11:1-8 at the tower of Babel. Why did he do this? Man’s arrogance and pride led them to believe that they could go to heaven and be with God or be god.
- 3.God chose one man, Abraham, and blessed his descendants (Genesis 15, 17). He called Israel his own special people. WHY? Because God’s plan was to bring His Son into the world through Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 12:1-4). The Israelites were just like all other nations in the world – though they were God’s special people (Deuteronomy 7:6). They heard these words, and took them to heart, and they became very prejudiced in the way they looked at others (see Acts 1-15).
- 4.Today, God’s people are Christians –But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:9ff). It matters not about race – what matters is obedience to God and his word.
- 5.God has made us all of “one blood” said Paul by inspiration in Acts 17. God has determined each nation and each people and how long they will exist on earth.
- 6.We should not follow the so-called wisdom or the way of the world (remember that Satan is orchestrating events in the world to divide people – as he has always done). War, division, hatred, animosity, suspicion, and anger is of Satan, and we need to make sure that we do not allow him to use us to continue these things. We should be instruments of peace.
- 7.Before we can make a difference and work through these problems to bring about peace, we have to know what the differences are! We need to understand one another! The only way we can do this is to talk; to converse with those of another race and get their “take on things” instead of making judgments without looking at their “side.” (John 7:24 – judge righteous judgment.)
- 8.Finally, let us understand that hatred and strife come from a lack of respect for God and those made in his image. The taking of life comes from a lack of understanding that God gives life – do we believe that all people, made in the image of God, are worthy of respect and love?
Tommy
