A Light to the Nations

Wednesday, January 11, 2023

“Listen to me, my people.  Hear me, Israel, for my law will be proclaimed, and my justice will become a light to the nations.  My mercy and justice are coming soon.  My salvation is on the way.  My strong arm will bring justice to the nations.  All distant lands will look to me and wait in hope for my powerful arm.  Look up to the skies above, and gaze down on the earth below.  For the skies will disappear like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a piece of clothing.  The people of the earth will die like flies, but my salvation lasts forever.  My righteous rule will never end!  Isaiah 51:4-6

In yesterday’s post I shared some of the popular culture’s opinion about how the “organized church” is boring, out-of-touch, antiquated, and without a hope of continuing.  The look of things on the landscape of the 21^st century would appear to validate that, with less attendance or support, a lower sense of commitment, and cultural norms aimed at whatever pleases the individual.  Community has been reduced to social media clicks, and wokeness for the “rights” of individuals, without the slightest nod in the direction of Heaven.  The 21^st century is a heathen paradise, self-absorbed, inflated, and very angry.

That’s not a pretty picture, or flattering in any way; truth can be quite startling, often harsh on the ears.  But truth cannot be made to be a lie.  We have returned to the days of Noah, where it broke God’s heart he had ever created us![1] 

And truth is why the church matters. 

The truth of our moral collapse, and sin’s great offense in Heaven, is the reason the church exists, to worship God, AND to proclaim His great mercy and love (His light) to the nations.  This is so well declared in Ernest Nichol’s great hymn,   We’ve a Story to Tell to the Nations:

We've a story to tell to the nations, that shall turn their hearts to the right,
a story of truth and mercy, a story of peace and light, a story of peace and light.

We've a song to be sung to the nations, that shall lift their hearts to the Lord,
a song that shall conquer evil, and shatter the spear and sword, 

     and shatter the spear and sword.

 We've a message to give to the nations, that the Lord who reigneth above
has sent us His Son to save us, and show us that God is love, 

     and show us that God is love.

We've a Savior to show to the nations, who the path of sorrow has trod,
that all of the world's great peoples may come to the truth of God, 

     may come to the truth of God!

For the darkness shall turn to dawning, and the dawning to noonday bright,
and Christ's great kingdom shall come on earth, the kingdom of love and light.[2]

For You Today  

Those who believe the church is “done” have misread, or misunderstood history and the nature of God.  He loves the church, his creation, and He also loves every human who has ever drawn breath.  And He has given the church the song of His love to be sung to each generation. 

The Kingdom of Christ is coming, and nothing less than the absolute rule of Christ will count for anything when that happens.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,000 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper on today’s topic, explore some of these: 

Consider the Rock  and  I Am; You ARE!

Images:  Title Pixabay.com   Images without citation are either personal property of the author, or in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©  

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[1] Genesis 6:5-6

[2] We’ve a Story to Tell to the Nations, The United Methodist Hymnal (Nashville, UMC Publishing House, 1989) 569