Amazing God of grace and compassion, pour out Your love and power on the needs of this dear reader; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Our text for today comes from the Old Testament book of Isaiah 49: 6 He says, "But that's not a big enough job for my servant - just to recover the tribes of Jacob, merely to round up the strays of Israel. I'm setting you up as a light for the nations so that my salvation becomes global!" 7 God, Redeemer of Israel, The Holy of Israel, says to the despised one, kicked around by the nations, slave labor to the ruling class: "Kings will see, get to their feet - the princes, too - and then fall on their faces in homage Because of God, who has faithfully kept his word, The Holy of Israel, who has chosen you." 8 God also says: "When the time's ripe, I answer you. When victory's due, I help you. I form you and use you to reconnect the people with me, To put the land in order, to resettle families on the ruined properties. 9 I tell prisoners, 'Come on out. You're free!' and those huddled in fear, 'It's all right. It's safe now.' There'll be foodstands along all the roads, picnics on all the hills - 10 Nobody hungry, nobody thirsty, shade from the sun, shelter from the wind, For the Compassionate One guides them, takes them to the best springs. 11 I'll make all my mountains into roads, turn them into a superhighway. 12 Look: These coming from far countries, and those, out of the north, These streaming in from the west, and those from all the way down the Nile!" 13 Heavens, raise the roof! Earth, wake the dead! Mountains, send up cheers! God has comforted his people. He has tenderly nursed his beaten-up, beaten-down people. 14 But Zion said, "I don't get it. God has left me. My Master has forgotten I even exist." 15 "Can a mother forget the infant at her breast, walk away from the baby she bore? But even if mothers forget, I'd never forget you - never. 16 Look, I've written your names on the backs of my hands. (The Message)
My three grandchildren have a fascination with flashlights. Something about holding those and waving them wildly on the ceiling, the floor at the walls, in semi-darkness, makes them laugh and smile. One even has the Fisher-Price one we bought for his mom. Light defeating darkness always intrigues us. Some of us have been in caverns where the trip involves getting into a part of the cave where the lights are extinguished and the guide will say a few word and invite us to hold our hands before our eyes to see if we can see anything. The answer is always no. The darkness is always so intense. Then the guide will light a match and that small match pierces the darkness in a grand way. So do our lives when we reflect the light of Christ as we live as Christians. Our acts of charity, compassion, concern pierce the darkness found in the world. This is the point of this passage. The prophet Isaiah is telling them what God has shared with him, live a life that shows the world the way of the true God. We should live a life that invites others to come and see the fullness of life found in Christ Jesus. The love of God for all people is compared to the love of a nursing mother to her child AND God has written our nems on the back of His hands.
Are you piercing the darkness? Have you allowed Jesus to pierce the darkness in your life? Live today in a positive, uplifting way that will show the world a better way to live.
PRAYER: Loving God, thank You for allowing Jesus to shine brightly in my life when I needed You most. May that light continue in a way that shows others what is available to them. I pray this in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord.
Eradio Valverde
