Who Is Your “Gentile?”

WHO IS YOUR “GENTILE?”

Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it. And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves. (Acts 28:28-29)

The Jews loved to talk about Abraham and the patriarchs. They enjoyed discussing Moses and the law. They would sing the praises of King David.

However, when the Gentiles would be mentioned, the Jews had nothing good to say about them. To the Jews, the Gentiles were dogs. They avoided Gentiles like the plague. In fact, when Jesus referred to Elijah and Elisha being received by Gentiles, the Jews were filled with anger wanted to throw Jesus off a cliff (Luke 4:24-29). If there was ever a sore subject to the Jew, it would be the Gentiles.

I have seen the same attitude in some Christians. For example, when I’m in the presence of some pastors, I dare not mention another certain preacher. If I did, I would be ostracized. I remember mentioning to another pastor that I enjoyed reading books by a certain author. That pastor’s opinion of me was immediately reduced. Just the mention of Trump or Clinton make some people bristle.

There are Christians who cannot stomach the mention of certain other Christians. Just mention the name of a certain Christian in their presence and watch their hackles go up! Sad.

The question is, “who is your Gentile?” Are there names you would rather not hear? Is there someone you would prefer not hear mentioned? If so, you are no better than the Jews who did not want to have anything to do with Gentile dogs.