His alcoholic, unfaithful dad left when he was 2 years old.  Then there was a stepdad for a while, but mostly he grew up with a single mom. His siblings and mom had no interest in God, and he himself had never given God much thought. Then as a teenager, he heard that God loved him and wanted to forgive him and come close. He responded wholeheartedly.  Later, he attended a state university and then a Christian university. Upon graduating, he became a discipleship pastor at his church, where he started dating and soon married his beloved wife.  He and his bride went to Central America to be a principal/ teachers in a new school in a depressed area.   Three years later, he and his wife returned to the US to help a new church grow.  Over the years, he has been a pastor, a youth leader, a counsellor, and an elder.  No matter whether or not he had an official title, his heart has always been to help people learn and obey God’s Word.  Now all four of his adult children are serving God.  He can look back on a satisfying and truly happy life, leading his family and many, many others to love and serve God. From being an outsider to becoming a godly husband, father and leader- this is what God loves to do!

There is an ‘outsider’ story in the Bible that I love.  God told one of his prophets, Isaiah, that he would direct a foreign king to help God’s people in the future.   Although this man didn’t come from a family or nation that loved God, he was chosen to know God and do God’s will. Not only was he chosen from an alien nation, but he was chosen before he was even born!  more than one hundred years before! God even told his prophet what the king’s name would be!

“This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb:
I am the Lord, the Maker of all things,
who stretches out the heavens,
who spreads out the earth by myself. . .
who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd
 and will accomplish all that I please;
 he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,”
and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.”’ Isaiah 44: 24,28

God had already planned for this king to order the rebuilding of God’s temple in Jerusalem even before the temple and Jerusalem were destroyed by their enemies.  In 605 BC, God allowed the Babylonians to capture and begin deporting his people because it was the only way to convince them to return to him. They had stubbornly refused to love and obey their God, and finally, God had to take harsh measures to convince them that they were on the wrong path. Other waves of deportation followed until the land was empty of inhabitants. But all wasn’t lost, because God promised through his prophet, Jeremiah, that after 70 years had passed, God would appoint a new king to allow the faithful remnant of Jews to return to their homeland and rebuild God’s temple and the city of Jerusalem. That king’s name would be Cyrus.

“This is what the Lord says to his anointed,
 to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of
 to subdue nations before him
and to strip kings of their armor,
 to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut … so that you may know that I am the Lord,
 the God of Israel, who summons you by name.”” Isaiah 45:1,3

Interestingly, a Greek historian recounted that when Cyrus came to conquer the great city of Babylon, he met with no resistance.  Known for his kind treatment of subdued enemies, the people simply opened the gate and let him enter just as God promised over a hundred and fifty years before.  So in 539 BC, Cyrus took control of mighty Babylon.

God picked Cyrus for a special job and helped him accomplish it.  Why did God choose to reveal himself to an outsider? So that he would release God’s people from captivity. And so that people everywhere may know there is none besides God, and he is the Lord of all.

“And why have I called you for this work?
Why did I call you by name when you did not know me?
It is for the sake of Jacob my servant,
Israel my chosen one.

I am the Lord;
there is no other God.
I have equipped you for battle,
though you don’t even know me.
so that from the rising of the sun
 to the place of its setting 
people may know there is none besides me.
 I am the Lord, and there is no other.” Isaiah 45:2-6

In 538 BC during the first year of his reign in conquered Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree. He humbly acknowledged that God had given him victory and had given him the mandate to rebuild God’s temple in Jerusalem.

“In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia . . . the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:
“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:
“‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them.’” Ezra 1:1-3

Not only did King Cyrus give permission for the faithful Jews to rebuild, he returned the treasures of the temple that had been confiscated by his predecessors. These items had considerable value, yet Cyrus willingly gave them back.

”Moreover, King Cyrus brought out the articles belonging to the temple of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his god. Cyrus king of Persia had them brought by Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. . . In all, there were 5,400 articles of gold and of silver. Sheshbazzar brought all these along with the exiles when they came up from Babylon to Jerusalem.” Ezra 1:7-8, 11Have you ever secretly decided that some people will never come to God? They come from a family that doesn’t care about God. They don’t know anything about the Bible. They don’t seem interested in spiritual things. Don’t give up on them! It may be that God will suddenly show up in their lives and change them into earnest God seekers, willingly obedient, and used by God to help others in a big way.  P.S. The alcoholic dad came to faith just before he died under the influence of his granddaughter and son.

For further reading:
“He honored his subjects and cared for them as if they were his own children,” Xenophon wrote, “and they, on their part, revered Cyrus as a father.”National Geo article on Cyrus the Great. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/cyrus-the-great
Influence of Cyrus the Great- including the U.S. constitution. https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/File:Cyrus_II_le_Grand_et_les_H%C3%A9breux.jpg