Hope for the lost

I have heard Ephraim grieving, ‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined, like an untrained calf; bring me back that I may be restored, for you are the Lord my God. For after I had turned away, I relented, and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh; I was ashamed, and I was confounded, because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’ 
Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he my darling child? For as often as I speak against him, I do remember him still. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 31:18–20)

God hears His OT people pleading for mercy and restoration. They are ashamed and aware of their sin. He then says how He thinks of them with a loving heart and a promise of mercy.

I have a relative whose birth parent remarried a Jewish woman. This person has had a great influence on my relative to the point she now thinks she is Jewish. Research says you do not need to practice the religion to be Jewish, nor do you need to be born Jewish to practice the religion. 

Huh? This makes no sense to someone reading the OT, yet it does when considering verses like these:

That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, (Romans 4:16)
Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. (Galatians 3:7-9)

In the mind of God, those who believe in Him like Abraham believed and lived are His children. It is not those who culturally decide to join Judaism, but those who humble themselves, are ashamed of their sin, and put their faith in the mercy of God. 

This is completely foreign to my relative. Going along with religious festivities like Passover without understanding their meaning is like celebrating Santa Claus at Christmas instead of the birth of Christ.

Yet there is hope. Should this person be convicted by the Holy Spirit and grieve their sin and plead for mercy, God is willing to call her His child and reveal to her His grace through faith. While people share their faith and speak of sin and its power, unless the Spirit does it, reasoning and excuses keep her from becoming a true Jew who embraces the wonder of God being born in a manger and becoming our Messiah.

Jesus, You encourage me by Your ability to hear the cries of a human heart, even to discipline anyone enslaved by sin. An even greater blessing is to know that You love us and are willing to have mercy on all who ask You for it. May Your Spirit be at work in the lives of all — those who are near and those who are far away.

All of the Bible is important for me . . .

Far too many Christians dismiss the Old Testament because they think it is about ancient Israel and has no application for the modern world or the church. However, this is not the way it was understood by the writers of the New Testament. Paul was an Israelite and the OT was the only Scripture he had at the time he wrote letters to the churches (which later became the NT). In one of those, He said this of our relationship to God . . .

“I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but ‘Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.’ This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.” (Romans 9:1–8)

This and other passages proclaim that Christians are the children of God in the same way as His OT people; by faith like the faith of Abraham, all are saved. What does that mean in a practical sense? It means that the promises made to the OT believers are also promises that I can believe in for myself and claim as the Word of God to me.

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9–10)

“And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” (Galatians 3:29)

^^^^^^^^

Jesus, because I belong to You (by grace I am saved through faith), then I am a child of Abraham, an heir of all the promises made to him and to all Your OT people. This is mercy, yet it is also marvelous and grand. I’ve known this truth for a long time, yet am overwhelmed at times by the width and breadth of it. Even the size of the OT alone is indication of all that You offer to me because I am a child of Abraham, a child of God. Thank You for including me in the most blessed family on earth, Your family. Thank You also for teaching me why I should read and enjoy all of the Scriptures, not just part of what You say and promise to me.