Gathering

I, the Lord, will bring my people back from Babylonia and everywhere else on earth. The blind and the lame will be there. Expectant mothers and women about to give birth will come and be part of that great crowd. ~ Jeremiah 31:8 (CEV)

The master said to the servant, ‘Go to the highways and back alleys and urge people to come in so that my house will be filled.' ~ Luke 14:23 (CEB)

Lord, you aggressively gather people to party with you. Fortunately for me, you include the lost and distant -- the handicapped and the vulnerable mothers -- the weak and the broken. Please give me the same passion for gathering people from the distant places and the margins of society. Please give me a true heart for these people -- those for whom Jesus died. Amen.