Scripture Reading(s)
Isaiah 9:2-7
9:2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness on them light has shined.
9:3 You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder.
9:4 For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.
9:5 For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire.
9:6 For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
9:7 His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
Reflections
This Christmas season let us take the time to celebrate the beauty of what it mean for God to come this earth. This passage is so much more then just recalling the birth of Christ. It is rejoicing in the fact that Christ came to this earth to shine His light to all the world and rescue lost souls from their sin.
Jesus came to this earth with the purpose of showing the world what true light and joy means. He came to show those who were sick that only He had the power to heal. He showed those who were outcasts and poor that they could find their identity in Him. He gave hope to the hopeless and showed sinners that their sin could only lead them down a dark and dangerous path. He showed them what forgiveness and Grace looks like. He revealed that turning our life over to Christ and letting go of what the world had to offer brought on a satisfaction that nothing in this world can match.
This Christmas and onward let us shine our light to the rest of the world. Let us remind them that the story of Christmas does not just stop at Jesus being born in a manger. That was just the beginning and it continues on to Christ devoting Himself to loving, caring and dying for those who were in need of saving from their sin. God’s light shines through in this passage and it continues to shine through today. Let us spread that let in all the dark places and make God’s love known the world.
One of the questions that I’ve heard many times is, if Jesus is the messiah then why is there still suffering and sin in the world? Where is the shalom promised by the prophets. I would point them to a couple verses in the old and new testaments. Isaiah 9 is one of them. In God’s revelation through Isaiah it is discovered that the messiah’s authority will “grow continually”. It will not happen all at ones. In fact, Jesus refereed to the kingdom authority as leaven in dough. It starts small and grows to eventually saturate the entire lump of dough.
He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.” (Matthew 13:33)
In a similar parable Jesus likened the kingdom to a mustard seed.
He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” (Matthew 13:31-32)
How appropriate it is that Jesus came to the earth as the smallest and most humble form, a baby. This baby would eventually change the world as we know it and bring deliverance to anyone who would follow Him.
Do not despise the small and humble beginnings in your life. Is it through the small victories as we follow the Lord that we grow and in turn we spread the kingdom with us. God uses the humble and obedient to do His work, not the mighty.
Amen and a very blessed Christmas! Thank you Jesus!