People of God

This world is God’s world.

And our great God loves the world that He made

                  and the beings He created to populate it.

The black people, the brown people,

                  the yellow and the white,

                  those with slant eyes or straight noses,

                  the rich and the poor, lowly or noble –

     They are all God’s people,

                  and His love embraces each and every one.

Not all the creatures of this world

                  are citizens of the kingdom of God.

The people who shun His redeeming love

                  cannot inhabit the city of eternal light.

They become the children of darkness.

They shall wander forever

                  through the limitless spaces of nothingness.

The sons and daughters of God are those

                  who relate to their Father and Creator,

                  who walk in obedience to His will and Word.

They shall dwell together in joy

                  and shall sing and dance

                  in perpetual celebration

                  in that beautiful city

                  beyond the boundaries and borders

                  of this present world.[1]

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[1]  A reflection on Psalm 87 composed by Leslie F. Frandt, Psalms/Now, St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1973, 138.