God calls His
children home, the ones He created for His own glory. Going home, to the place of your childhood. It might not seem attractive to everyone, but
for those who had a happy childhood it likely will be. If, as a child, you had a "picture"
of God in the way your parents raised you, then you can see your life in the
verses of Isaiah 43. God promised to His
scattered children, the Israelites, that He would bring them back to the homeland
He had given them.
Then God
asks the remainder of the world's people, the people that neither knew or
followed God, if they forecasted God's restoration of His children? Of these people, where are witnesses who knew
what God not only could do but would do? There were none.
God calls His
children His witnesses. They witnessed
God's redemption from foreign captivity. To them God revealed, saved, and
proclaimed His deity. They were
witnesses to the truth, that from ancient days God was who He claimed to be -
the only God.
God
proclaims His power: no one can take His children away; no one can reverse what
God does, there is no "Undo Typing" button in the toolbar of life. What God writes is written.
Some, maybe
many, of Isaiah's prophecies relate a soon-to-occur event and also a
distant-future event. Perhaps this
prophecy is one of those: God's deliverance of Israel from captivity is
redemption; God's Son would much later bring deliverance and redemption to all
people, God's future children.
Just a few
weeks ago, we looked into the face of our first great-grandchild. Our emotions went from shear joy, awe, and
love to the other extreme. We thought
without the stories from generation to generation, the stories of faith that
must be told, the faith will eventually die out. We want this legacy of faith
for our great-grandchildren and for yours. To many these days, it may seem unimportant in
the face of the many things happening in our world. But unless the "children" are told
faithfully, the light of faith will go out.
We must be witnesses for future generations, pointing them to the light.
Prayer: Lord, we often call you Father because that
is one of the many relationships we have with You. As our earthly fathers taught and showed us
the way, may we learn spiritual ways from You. May we mature to be the witness you need us to
be in a world that often forgets You. In
the name of Christ, the lamb, the true sacrifice. Amen.
Lawrence
& Sharon Herndon
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