Mensa Otabil - God Has No Favorites
- Watch
- Donate
This week, we are looking at things that will help us become the people God wants us to be. We’ve examined the fact that God has a high calling for us. We’ve also noted that God has given us what we need to live that life. Today, we are going to explore a very important concept: that God shows no partiality. Acts chapter 10, verse 34: «Then Peter opened his mouth and said, 'In truth, I perceive that God shows no partiality.'»
It is a very sobering realization for Peter. Why? Because Peter is a Jew, and the Jews felt that they had a corner on God’s grace; they are God’s people. On the day of Pentecost in the New Testament, when the Holy Spirit came, He came to the upper room, and all the people who received the Holy Spirit were Jews. Now, Peter goes to the home of a Gentile, an outsider, and he preaches the Word of God, and they receive the Holy Spirit in a similar manner to how they did on the day of Pentecost. He came to the conclusion that if God will give Gentiles the same Holy Spirit as the Jews received on the day of Pentecost, then God shows no partiality.
It is a very sobering thought for him because he has grown up thinking they are God’s chosen people, unique, and that their experiences cannot be appropriated or enjoyed by others. But God showed Peter that He shows no partiality. That truth Peter found is still true today: God shows no partiality. We need to drill down this concept in our minds because sometimes we live lives thinking that some people are more favored than others. God gave them more than He gave me, we think; God shows partiality.
Have you noticed that when you look around the world, the people who end up doing so much often come from generations without advantages? Some came from orphanages, some from poverty, some from dysfunctional families. Some of the richest people came from very poor backgrounds. Some people who end up leading nations came from very distraught backgrounds, and yet they got there. Why? Because where you start in life is not as important as where you are going in life. God shows no partiality; even what you think is a disadvantage is working out for His good.
God does not have favorite children; He doesn’t have some people He listens to and others He doesn’t. He doesn’t favor some people while disregarding others. He doesn’t have some people whose sins He’ll forgive and others whose sins He will not forgive. God has no favorites. When you read the Bible, you notice that even the heroes of faith, the people God chooses, when they make mistakes, God treats them just like everybody else. He doesn’t cover the sins of Moses, doesn’t cover the sins of David, doesn’t cover Samson’s sins; He deals with everybody equally. Why? Because God shows no partiality. What He can do with one, He can do with another. The doors He opens for this one, He can open for that one.
Many times, we exclude ourselves because we think, «Oh, I’m not God’s favorite. Life has not been good to me; I am not favored. I come from a bad family,» and so forth. Sometimes we say this as a joke, but it’s a mindset that imprisons us. God does not show partiality. One of the biggest mistakes you can ever make in life is to let somebody’s success loom so large before you that you feel insignificant. «Oh, if this guy can do this, who am I? I can’t do anything like that.» We think God has favored them, and these days people use the phrase, «God has graced them.» They say, «We are not grace mates.» Who said that? We are all grace mates because God’s grace is the same for all people. People apply themselves differently and get different results, but as for God, He’ll give us all favor, all grace, and all opportunities. What you do with it is what will determine the outcome of your life.
God shows no partiality and has no favorites anywhere, in any country, in any continent, or in any class of people. If you can trust Him at any time, He will show you His favor. Let us pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, Your goodness towards me is the same as for all Your children. I am blessed beyond measure. In Jesus' name, Amen.»