Nov 26, 2011
Focus Reading: Isaiah 40:1-11
In our disconnected, violent, and often warring world we need words of comfort and peace. Isaiah 40 brings us three very powerful words of comfort from God. “I forgive.” “I am coming.” and “I will carry you”. In a world dominated by a thirst for revenge which often leads to a cycle of hatred we need to hear both a divine and a human word of forgiveness. In a world of alienation where neighbours do not know each other and where so much that should be whole seems broken we need the healing and restoring glory of God revealed in our lives our church and our world so that all may be drawn to the light. At a time when we in the west seem to busier and busier getting tired doing less and less as the mainline church ages, we need to acknowledge that we can’t do it ourselves. We need to be carried.
For Christians these promises of Isaiah find their focus in Jesus his coming and his second coming and the Spirit pouring his love into our hearts. In the midst of our broken personal, national and international relationships, this, then, must be our word of comfort:- Through Jesus we are being restored, made whole, we are being embraced and carried home.
Questions for thought or discussion:
What kind of things have you observed about those who have trouble giving or recieving forgiveness? What is peace? What things in life and faith have you found comforting? What is the place of Jesus in the bringing of comfort and peace?