Good morning, Hump Day readers. For some of my readers from Turkey and those who have family/friends in Turkey and Syria, my prayers are with you. Readers, please join in with the millions of people from all walks of faith who are praying for Turkey and Syria.

Again, the Holy Spirit decided to change my devotion for today and I took her lead because I have a great concern for our propensity to shut others out. Yes, I am going to go down that road of inclusivity and if Florida’s Gov. DeSantis (and others) doesn’t like it—too bad! If you are a person who claims faith in Christ you cannot be non-inclusive. If you are, how on earth can you share the Gospel which Christ brought for everyone? Let’s start this devotion with the Gospel of John and his account of what happened at Jesus’ death and resurrection. As a woman in ministry, I would reach out and hug John if he were here today!

Think of the resurrection story and the characters that were a part of it. In Jesus’ day and long before, women were worth less than a cow. In fact, a woman’s testimony wasn’t valid in a Jewish court even if she was the only eye-witness! But Jesus loved the women as he did the men. Where were the disciples at His crucifixion? Only John was there along with Mary, the mother of Jesus and her sister; Mary, the mother of the sons of Zebedee; Salome; and Mary of Clopas. They came even though they knew they could be arrested or harmed.

Now let’s take Resurrection Day, who were the first people entrusted with the good news that Jesus was risen from the grave? Women! In John 20:15, 17 [ESV] Jesus says, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus replied, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”  Women with first knowledge on the Resurrection—incredible!

Is this a big deal in our times? Oh yes—because we all can play the “Inclusivity Game” but we have already laid claim to who is in and who is out—so much for being inclusive. We’re quick to judge and separate, yet, when we are not “invited” we get angry. Worse yet, if you read the statistics of gun violence, you’ll know that being labeled “on the outside” is a trigger for all kinds of violence, the highest percentage being perpetrated with a gun.

It hurts to not be a part of the group, which includes families, friendships, school and social activities, workplace, and sadly even in the church. Our young generations call these outside folks a ‘NON’ – how awful! How would you feel if you were a ‘NON’—a nothing to others? What does this do for your psyche? It’s no wonder our rates of suicide continue to rise almost daily. And well-documented statistics tell us this affects all ages.

The loss of inclusivity makes a lot of ‘NON’s’ resulting in a lot of folks who are not seen or heard. Globally—including our American society, this is devastating. Race, religions, privilege, poverty, those with mental/physical challenges, ugly, tall, short, skinny, fa—add your own adjectives—but I ask you “where in God’s Word does it say these people don’t matter?”

Everything was created by God and all creation belongs to God. What a gift—but we have millions of people who don’t know this. They are on the outside—missing out on being God’s precious children. So, fellow Christians, are we OK with this? If we are OK living this way, I want to know what Bible is being read, what sermons are being said–what are we reading and/or listening to that gives us the idea that this treatment of others is acceptable to the Christ who died for ALL?

Christine Caine wrote “No one is excluded, and no one person is favored by God more than another because of any physical characteristics, race, creed or gender. Our God loves and qualifies each of us for great things!” We do well to remember this, because we too, were once cast-outs before Jesus came to live in our hearts.

In closing I urge every one of us to ask ourselves these three questions:

?  “How can the inclusivity of the Gospel change my perspective of other people?”
?  “How do I feel when I am the ‘NON’—living on-the-outside-looking-in?”
?  “How can I share the life-giving Gospel if I exclude people?”

Let’s remind ourselves of our own “warts and pimples.” Yet Jesus loves us unconditionally and welcomed us into the kingdom of God. Inclusivity is part of God’s plan—use it. AMEN!