Apr 22 – Must Be Saved!

“Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.” (Romans 10:1)

The above verse clearly reveals the desire of the apostle Paul’s heart. The people of Israel were a nation chosen by the Lord. They were the descendants of Abraham, the friend of God. They were the people who received the Law and the promises, and they were known for their zeal for God. From this very lineage came our Lord Jesus Christ.

Yet, even though the Savior came through their own lineage, they did not accept Him. “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.” (John 1:11)

It was through the Jews that salvation came to us Gentiles. From them we received the Scriptures. Yet many among them today have rejected Jesus and continue in spiritual struggle and suffering.

The apostle Paul was chosen as the apostle to the Gentiles. He travelled to distant lands where people had never heard of Christ and preached the Word of the Lord. Through him, God performed many powerful miracles and signs. Yet Paul’s greatest desire remained this: that his own people, Israel, should be saved. This was also the earnest prayer he continually offered to God.

Father Berchmans once said with tears, “My Catholic people must be saved. Their eyes must be opened.” In the same way, a brother who had been saved out of Islam once came to our office for ministry work and said, “My heart’s desire and my prayer to God is that my people, the Ishmaelites (Muslims), should be saved.”

We must pray for the people of Israel. We must pray for Catholics. We must pray for Muslims. And beyond that, we must pray for every person who does not yet know the Savior.

If only we ourselves are saved, but our children or our brothers and sisters are missing at the coming of the Lord, how tragic that would be! In the days of Noah, there were those who helped cut the wood for the ark, carpenters who worked on it, and those who sealed it with pitch. Yet they could not enter the ark. It must have been deeply heart-wrenching for Noah to see this!

Children of God, not only you and your household, but everyone connected with you should be saved.

Verse for further meditation: “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4)