“I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,
to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.”
—Isaiah 42:6-7
“Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?”
—Ezekiel 33:11
Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
—1 Peter 2:12
Eager anticipation is a form of waiting, but waiting filled with hope and purpose.
Children may look forward eagerly to Christmas or birthdays. Parents and grandparents do as well, but in a different way. Preparing for a family visit or a birthday party can be a part of joyous anticipation of joy to come. And every year, before holidays such as Easter or Christmas, I see articles urging readers not to become stressed or filled with performance anxiety, but to remember what the season is supposed to be about.
After His temptation in the wilderness, Jesus went to Nazareth and read prophecies of good news, then told those in the synagogue that those prophecies were being fulfilled right in front of them. The sun was rising, then and there.
The word "fulfill" means to bring to completion. God had called Isaiah to be a bringer of good news and healing and release, just as He had called Moses to the same work much earlier. And just as He had called all of Israel to be and do all along. Jesus was the perfect completion of a task that Israel had failed to complete. And Jesus had shared that task with His followers, calling in the Sermon on the Mount, “...let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father...”
There's an old hymn by Philip P. Bliss that builds on that metaphor, beginning:
Brightly beams our Father’s mercy
From His lighthouse evermore;
But to us He gives the keeping
Of the lights along the shore.
A few lines later, that hymn resonates with the hope-filled song that describes
watchmen waiting “for the morning”, but it does so from a different point of view. The watchmen watch to give safety to others. Bliss's line gives the perspective of the others:
Eager eyes are watching, longing,
For the lights along the shore.
It seems easier to have compassion on those who are seen as seekers looking for the light. It seems harder to regard even the most bitter opponents as fellow victims of the enemy who seeks to destroy all humans. But that is exactly what they are. Peter's message about the patience of the Lord, “not wishing that any should perish”, applies to them as well.
Eager anticipation of the Lord's final, eternal dawning includes a renewed dedication to reflect the light of His love and truth.
While We Wait
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.
—Psalm 130:5-6
“I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,
to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.”
—Isaiah 42:6-7
“Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?”
—Ezekiel 33:11
Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
—1 Peter 2:12
Eager anticipation is a form of waiting, but waiting filled with hope and purpose.
Children may look forward eagerly to Christmas or birthdays. Parents and grandparents do as well, but in a different way. Preparing for a family visit or a birthday party can be a part of joyous anticipation of joy to come. And every year, before holidays such as Easter or Christmas, I see articles urging readers not to become stressed or filled with performance anxiety, but to remember what the season is supposed to be about.
After His temptation in the wilderness, Jesus went to Nazareth and read prophecies of good news, then told those in the synagogue that those prophecies were being fulfilled right in front of them. The sun was rising, then and there.
The word "fulfill" means to bring to completion. God had called Isaiah to be a bringer of good news and healing and release, just as He had called Moses to the same work much earlier. And just as He had called all of Israel to be and do all along. Jesus was the perfect completion of a task that Israel had failed to complete. And Jesus had shared that task with His followers, calling in the Sermon on the Mount, “...let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father...”
There's an old hymn by Philip P. Bliss that builds on that metaphor, beginning:
Brightly beams our Father’s mercy
From His lighthouse evermore;
But to us He gives the keeping
Of the lights along the shore.
A few lines later, that hymn resonates with the hope-filled song that describes
watchmen waiting “for the morning”, but it does so from a different point of view. The watchmen watch to give safety to others. Bliss's line gives the perspective of the others:
Eager eyes are watching, longing,
For the lights along the shore.
It seems easier to have compassion on those who are seen as seekers looking for the light. It seems harder to regard even the most bitter opponents as fellow victims of the enemy who seeks to destroy all humans. But that is exactly what they are. Peter's message about the patience of the Lord, “not wishing that any should perish”, applies to them as well.
Eager anticipation of the Lord's final, eternal dawning includes a renewed dedication to reflect the light of His love and truth.
To all. While we wait.