“THE BIBLE IS CLEAR: Moabites are bad. They were not to be allowed to dwell among God’s people (Dt. 23).
BUT THEN comes the story of “Ruth the Moabite,” which challenges the prejudice against Moabites.THE BIBLE IS CLEAR: People from Uz are evil (Jer. 25).
BUT THEN comes the story of Job, a man from Uz who was the “most blameless man on earth.”THE BIBLE IS CLEAR: No foreigners or eunuchs allowed (Dt. 23).
BUT THEN comes the story of an African eunuch welcomed into the church (Acts 8).THE BIBLE IS CLEAR: God’s people _hated_ Samaritans.
BUT THEN Jesus tells a story that shows not all Samaritans were bad.THE STORY MAY BEGIN with prejudice, discrimination, & animosity, but the Spirit moves God’s people towards openness, welcome, inclusion, acceptance, & affirmation.” —Bixby Knolls Christian Church
We don’t have to wait as long as Acts to see a new story in the Bible about eunuchs or Africans. Eunuchs in Persia aid Esther in attracting Xerxes. The Ethiopian Ebed-Melech helps Jeremiah get out of the well-prison he would otherwise have died in. And Isaiah imagines eunuchs in the world made right.
Sometimes, even when we see the social storyline changing, we’re willing to wait too long to make the story real.
We don’t have the time for that. The Overview Effect, the result of observing our cosmic address, can help remind us of the stakes and the planetary challenges that are ours to resolve.