He Made All the Nations

Leviticus 13,14; Acts 17 

“’From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out 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.’”

Acts 17:26-28

God’s creative design of us goes beyond our bodies and includes our ‘ethnos’, or national ethnicity. God’s hand has guided where and when nations have lived, their appointed times (kairos) in his story and the boundaries of their lands.

Why does the Lord care at this detailed level for each nation and ethnic group?

His desire is that each nation would seek him and find him in relationship. God’s mission is to make disciples, or apprentices, of Jesus from all nations. His mission is to baptize these disciples into the new identity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, even while they retain the unique cultural identity, teaching them to obey all that Christ commanded. The Lord’s presence will be with these Christ-followers from every tribe, nation, and language, for “in him we live and move and have our being.”

“Lord God, your design of culture was so we would worship you uniquely, for your glory.”