That's Gotta Be the Church

Scripture:
"This exile is just like the days of Noah for me:
I promised then that the waters of Noah
would never again flood the earth.
I’m promising now no more anger,
no more dressing you down.
For even if the mountains walk away
and the hills fall to pieces,
My love won’t walk away from you,
my covenant commitment of peace won’t fall apart."
The God who has compassion on you says so.
Isaiah 54:9-10

Observation: Isaiah 53 is all about the Messiah ... the suffering servant who is actually killed as the sacrifice to redeem all sin for all people for all time. Then chapter 54 returns to the restoration of God's people, however the imagery is a little different than in previous chapters. It begins by talking about a woman who has no children, but who is about to have many, many children. She will be married to the Lord himself, and the offspring will actually take over entire nations and spread throughout the entire earth.

At first this may sound like the restoration of Israel from the exile, as verse 9 even discusses the exile. This discussion declares that such an exile will never occur again, comparing that promise to the covenant promise of Noah. The issue is that ... it is a historical fact that Israel was destroyed and scattered again. However, it is also a historical fact that this next destruction and exile occurred after the time of Jesus, after the establishment of the Church, and thus after this faith - belief in Yahweh anchored in faith in Jesus Christ as Messiah the suffering servant - had begun to take over entire nations and spread throughout the entire earth.

Application: The Lord who has such compassion on us all that he would provide salvation through the suffering of one man declares this ... the Church is his promise to provide hope and safety throughout the entire world.

Yes, we don't always do a great job at providing that hope and safety. I could do better, as could everyone else, but of course we are only human and flawed despite our faith. That said, I wonder how much better I would do at bringing hope to others if I remembered that God himself promised that hope would be delivered to the entire world through our efforts.

What a privilege that is to consider, that not just our faith in Messiah, but our mission as God's love manifested for all nations, as his bride on earth, was declared as a promise by the Lord himself 2,500 years ago.

Prayer: Lord, you have promised that the Church is part of your plan for the world. May we all do a better job of delivering on your promise, and may that improvement begin with me. Amen.