As R . Kendall Soulen has argued so persuasively , being a Gentile is an equal way of relating to God as is being Jewish ! We are all image bearers ! We all get to be who we were created and redeemed to be in the Kingdom ! ( Acts 17:26 ; Rev . 7:4- 10 ). Jews get to remain Jews , and Gentiles get to remain Gentile in Messiah ! ( 1 Cor . 7:17-20 ) We are one in Yeshua and our identity in Him as God ’ s children is our most salient identity in the Kingdom of the Heavens !
I can joyfully identify with the Jewish people , without trying to act like one : We as Gentiles of the Nations have the deep joy and honor to identify with the genealogical kinsmen of our Messiah — the Jewish people . For through our union with Jesus the Jewish Messiah , we and every Messianic / Christian Gentile of the Nations have been bonded together with the Jewish people ! What a gift ! Yet , there are too many Gentiles who love doing Jewish things and act as if they are Jews , more than they love and identify with the Jewish people . While I do not want to be unnecessarily critical , this feels less like loving the Jewish people and more like coveting their identity .
I have the joyful responsibility to give my children and grandchildren ( and those I disciple ) a clear example and message that Jewish and Gentile identity in Messiah exists in an order of mutual enrichment :
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