To the Ends Of the Earth!

What’s the furthest you’ve ever traveled?  California? Europe? China? Australia? Did you reach the end of the earth?  My furthest trip was to India via Dubai. It was a long and arduous trip (13 hours to Dubai, a long layover, followed by a 5 hour flight to Calcutta).  To me it felt like I had gone to the end of the earth.  I doubt the people there would have agreed.  Maybe in their minds I had just come from the end of the earth! 

“To the Ends of the Earth,” is the theme for our mission’s convention that we begin this weekend here at the church I pastor, Shrewsbury First Assembly of God.  But the question comes to mind, where is the end of the earth?  Of course, the answer is, there is no end of the earth.  After all, the earth is round and thus, it is a continuous sphere.  Yet, we all know that there is meaning to the phrase, “to the ends of the earth.” “To the ends of the earth,” refers to those geographic points that are as far as one can get from their current location. It speaks of our earth/world in all of its totality. Most especially, it brings to mind all the people that are included therein—men, women, youth, children in every place upon this earth.   

The Bible speaks of God’s desire that his salvation would “reach to the ends of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6 – NIV)  Jesus reflected the same sentiment when he told his disciples that, when the Holy Spirit came upon them they would receive power to be his “…witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  (Acts 1:8 – NIV) The Apostle Paul knew that he had received the same call for the Lord had said to him, “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.”  (Acts 13:47 – NIV)

The scriptures remind us that God loves our world—i.e. the people of our world—all the way to the ends of the earth. That means no one is left out. No one is excluded. God’s love and his desire to bring his salvation extend to all peoples. So whatever or wherever you might consider is the end of the earth, remember there are people there and all the way in between whom God loves and wants to save. (And by the way, that includes you!)  Thus, he is calling us to partner with him in reaching them with the good news of Jesus.  

Let’s commit ourselves to help fulfill God’s heart’s desire by doing our part to reach the “ends of the earth” with the good news of the Gospel. 

Have a great day!

Pastor Tim Harris