After spending over fifty chapters announcing damnation on the sinful nations of the world, Isaiah, the prophet of Judah, began to change his message...
Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
3 The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.
ISAIAH 60:1-3
With these words, Isaiah began to announce the coming of a light promised from the beginning of time itself. With these very words, the paradigm began to shift; the darkness began to break. It was these very words that echoed off the hills of Judea the night Jesus Christ came into this world. But who actually noticed the sign in the sky that night? How many actually reacted?
The opening words from my fictional book
WORD TO THE WISE: MELCHIOR'S TALE
begins like this:
And to think he had almost given up...
How many times have we seen that 'sign in the sky'? How many times have we heard from God concerning something he wished to do in us, with us and through us? And how many times have we simply given these moments a pass?
These Magi picked up from their busy lives, from the safety of their homes to travel to Jerusalem at the behest of a simple sign in the sky. From the reaction of those in Herod's court, we can assume that they missed the celestial announcement or chose to ignore it. From the very fact that these were the only recorded visitors, we can assume that no one else recognized it as a sign or considered it too little, too late.
Now, before we get judgmental, we need to ask ourselves how many times God has chosen to reveal himself to us; to give us a sign that he wants to do something for us, to us and through us? And how many times have we passed on it due to our busy lives or just due to our outright laziness? We make excuses. We justify our position and we move on. Now, don't get me wrong, I know God has a plan; no doubt. But, sometimes, God reveals his plans to us and we either miss it or dismiss it. We figure to ourselves that surely there is someone else who is better equipped to handle this task.
Sometimes yes. Sometimes no.
I pray that we become more and more careful about our responses as God chooses to reveal himself and his plan to us everyday.
Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
3 The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.
ISAIAH 60:1-3
With these words, Isaiah began to announce the coming of a light promised from the beginning of time itself. With these very words, the paradigm began to shift; the darkness began to break. It was these very words that echoed off the hills of Judea the night Jesus Christ came into this world. But who actually noticed the sign in the sky that night? How many actually reacted?
The opening words from my fictional book
WORD TO THE WISE: MELCHIOR'S TALE
begins like this:
And to think he had almost given up...
How many times have we seen that 'sign in the sky'? How many times have we heard from God concerning something he wished to do in us, with us and through us? And how many times have we simply given these moments a pass?
These Magi picked up from their busy lives, from the safety of their homes to travel to Jerusalem at the behest of a simple sign in the sky. From the reaction of those in Herod's court, we can assume that they missed the celestial announcement or chose to ignore it. From the very fact that these were the only recorded visitors, we can assume that no one else recognized it as a sign or considered it too little, too late.
Now, before we get judgmental, we need to ask ourselves how many times God has chosen to reveal himself to us; to give us a sign that he wants to do something for us, to us and through us? And how many times have we passed on it due to our busy lives or just due to our outright laziness? We make excuses. We justify our position and we move on. Now, don't get me wrong, I know God has a plan; no doubt. But, sometimes, God reveals his plans to us and we either miss it or dismiss it. We figure to ourselves that surely there is someone else who is better equipped to handle this task.
Sometimes yes. Sometimes no.
I pray that we become more and more careful about our responses as God chooses to reveal himself and his plan to us everyday.