A Light to the Nations

The lectionary reading for today is from Isaiah 49:1-6....

Listen to me, O coastlands,
pay attention, you peoples from far away!
The Lord called me before I was born,
while I was in my mother’s womb he named me.
He made my mouth like a sharp sword,
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me away.
And he said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
But I said, “I have labored in vain,
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my cause is with the Lord,
and my reward with my God.”

And now the Lord says,
who formed me in the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him,
and that Israel might be gathered to him,
for I am honored in the sight of the Lord,
and my God has become my strength—
he says,
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to restore the survivors of Israel;
I will give you as a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

These verses from the prophet Isaiah are about the call of Israel as a nation to serve the Lord. God's intention for them was that they should be a light to the nations so that God's salvation would reach to the end of the earth. Of course, as Christians we believe that this prophecy, this intention on God's part, was fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah. Through him, God's salvation really has reached to the end of the earth, and the Good News about Jesus continues to go forth to all the nations.

But what about us? What about you and me? Do you think God has called us before we were born? Does God have a special intention, a plan for us? Does God want us also to be part of his light to the nations?

I believe the answer is a resounding "yes"! The question is: "How?"

Perhaps the answer is as simple as being a light to the people we meet today, shining the light of Jesus in word and deed. Perhaps we can begin by simply asking the Lord, "Jesus, shine your light through me to the people I meet today, that they might know your love. Amen."

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