Friday July 21, 2023
Theme: “Age: a factor of engagement or disengagement in the work of God” Text: Isaiah 54:4-8
4. Do not be afraid, for you will not be confounded; Do not blush, for you will not be dishonored; But you will forget the shame of your youth, And you will no longer remember the reproach of your widowhood. 5. For your creator is your husband: the LORD of hosts is his name; And your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel: He is called God of all the earth; 6. For the LORD remembers you as a forsaken and sorrowful-hearted woman, as a bride of youth who has been divorced, says your God. 7. For a few moments I had abandoned you, But with great affection I will welcome you; 8. In a moment of anger I stole my face from you for a moment, But with everlasting love I will have compassion on you, Says your redeemer, the Lord.
Let's remember:
These verses praise the redemption of Jerusalem. She who was abandoned like a young girl abandoned by her young fiancé and who suffers opprobrium and ignominy. She is a young girl without landmarks, lost in her search for solutions leading to her redemption. God had left Jerusalem when she was addicted to idols. The Lord had smitten Jerusalem and all her people, her kings, her chiefs, her flocks... her orchards had been ruined. Here comes the time of restoration, the time of redemption which consecrates the love of God and puts on the pedestal of divine glory. All who moved their heads at the affliction of Jerusalem are amazed because her redemption is manifest. God's restoration brings an air of youth and freshness back into a bruised life. Although the Jerusalem referred to here is the heavenly one, but the fact remains that age has no place in the heavenly city. Everyone is vigorous and pure like the young men running through the streets of Jerusalem. In New Jerusalem, the ageless love of God reigns and creates life around the throne. We know that the age of God is eternity because he reigns and lives from age to age. Thus in its courts age is only mentioned when we speak of the 24 elders who devote themselves to the praise and adoration of God. They are old men who have the strength of young people of an innocent age because they prostrate without pain in the back. In normal times, an old man would find it difficult to prostrate while the old men before the holy throne prostrate themselves night and day. Their main activity is prostration. Like what age is not enough to prevent an old man from prostrating himself before the throne of God. These old men have vigor because they cast their crowns before the throne. Excellent Friday and good start into the weekend. Amen Alain Louz.-
Comments