Day 31: When What Is Around You Is Crumbling ...
Read: Isaiah 28:16
Back in 1966, my parents purchased 40 acres of land in a rural area of
Western New York State. My Mother's father had passed away and this
property was purchased with her inheritance. It was virtually all woods
and several large and smaller ponds were in close proximity. With the
help of some friendly locals, my parents were able to clear
away an area and it was there that my Mom and Dad were able to set up
their very first Korean War surplus tent. It was a very big deal for all
of us. It was from their that my parents, I with my three sisters set
about the task of making it our home away from home for many summers to
come. That was a long time ago.
Today as I walk the land, the
buildings that were there are now all pretty much in the hand of Mother
Nature. They are crumbling and slowly being allowed to decay by the new
owners. They are all returning from whence they came. It is all a barely
recognizable memory. Today, I prefer to look at it this way: it is
returning to the way God first gave it to us: for the use and pleasure
of a new family like we were those many long years ago. As I ponder
these most fondest of memories, It came into my mind that everywhere you
look today, whether, in your own life, on the TV, or in the news, there
are people whose lives are falling into decay and ruin, crumbling away.
For Isaiah's Israel, there was great moral and societal
decay. Israel was crumbling. Only a remnant dared to do anything about
it only to be shouted down by 'the proud garland of the drunkards of
Ephraim, and the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the
head of those bloated with rich food, of those overcome with wine!
(verse 1). Where was the one who would come forth and become for the
nation - the moral compass pointing towards God's sure foundation?
'Therefore thus says the Lord God,See, I am laying in Zion a foundation
stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation: ‘One
who trusts will not panic.’ (verse 16)
Fast forward some
800 years. When I duly consider the humble beginnings of Jesus, it
amazes us that a poor, helpless baby is to be our deliverer. Before
Christ, no other writer ever used the word “humble” as an expression of
tribute. When Jesus came before His synagogue in Nazareth as a young
man, declaring Himself the fulfillment of messianic prophecy, the town
rejected him outright, because they only saw His humanity, and could not
conceive that one of their own might emerge as the surest foundation
for the restoration of their hope and the revelation of the glory of
God. Decide for yourselves: when all is crumbling around you: is God
your sure foundation to start again?
Let Us Pray: Lord it is an
extraordinarily difficult thing for anyone person to look upon
themselves and their communities around them and bare witness to all the
manners of decay and ruin to which we have allowed ourselves to be
subjected to. I pray for the remnant to come forth to clear away the
rubble, that in the name of Jesus Christ, our sure foundation, they
will boldly step forward to rebuild, restore Your Kingdom. Step by
step, brick by brick, building by building to reveal the glory of Your
creation.
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Read: Isaiah 28:16
Back in 1966, my parents purchased 40 acres of land in a rural area of Western New York State. My Mother's father had passed away and this property was purchased with her inheritance. It was virtually all woods and several large and smaller ponds were in close proximity. With the help of some friendly locals, my parents were able to clear away an area and it was there that my Mom and Dad were able to set up their very first Korean War surplus tent. It was a very big deal for all of us. It was from their that my parents, I with my three sisters set about the task of making it our home away from home for many summers to come. That was a long time ago.
Today as I walk the land, the buildings that were there are now all pretty much in the hand of Mother Nature. They are crumbling and slowly being allowed to decay by the new owners. They are all returning from whence they came. It is all a barely recognizable memory. Today, I prefer to look at it this way: it is returning to the way God first gave it to us: for the use and pleasure of a new family like we were those many long years ago. As I ponder these most fondest of memories, It came into my mind that everywhere you look today, whether, in your own life, on the TV, or in the news, there are people whose lives are falling into decay and ruin, crumbling away.
For Isaiah's Israel, there was great moral and societal decay. Israel was crumbling. Only a remnant dared to do anything about it only to be shouted down by 'the proud garland of the drunkards of Ephraim, and the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of those bloated with rich food, of those overcome with wine! (verse 1). Where was the one who would come forth and become for the nation - the moral compass pointing towards God's sure foundation? 'Therefore thus says the Lord God,See, I am laying in Zion a foundation stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation: ‘One who trusts will not panic.’ (verse 16)
Fast forward some 800 years. When I duly consider the humble beginnings of Jesus, it amazes us that a poor, helpless baby is to be our deliverer. Before Christ, no other writer ever used the word “humble” as an expression of tribute. When Jesus came before His synagogue in Nazareth as a young man, declaring Himself the fulfillment of messianic prophecy, the town rejected him outright, because they only saw His humanity, and could not conceive that one of their own might emerge as the surest foundation for the restoration of their hope and the revelation of the glory of God. Decide for yourselves: when all is crumbling around you: is God your sure foundation to start again?
Let Us Pray: Lord it is an extraordinarily difficult thing for anyone person to look upon themselves and their communities around them and bare witness to all the manners of decay and ruin to which we have allowed ourselves to be subjected to. I pray for the remnant to come forth to clear away the rubble, that in the name of Jesus Christ, our sure foundation, they will boldly step forward to rebuild, restore Your Kingdom. Step by step, brick by brick, building by building to reveal the glory of Your creation.
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