“He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.” Isaiah 2:4 NIV
Sometimes what we seek after is not always clear to us. We have expectations in our minds of how something is supposed to look, whether that is a test score, a doctor’s appointment. When we are given the results, or the news from the doctor, our expectations and dreams are suddenly pushed aside as reality takes over. Blinded by our own presuppositions and ideals, we realize how far from the truth we really were. This is how it must have been for those who first saw Jesus in His public ministry. They had no idea who this man was, or what He was up to. The miraculous things that He did, the healing of the blind, the cleansing of the lepers, the raising of the dead, were all events and activities that those who sought the Messiah had least expected. The visions of a dominant King who was to usher in the Kingdom of God came in a lowly carpenter from Nazareth who spent His time among the outcasts. He was born in a stable, died an innocent death on the cross, and was buried in a borrowed tomb. Even His resurrection to new life caught His disciples by surprise. This Advent, how are we blinded by our own expectations? Are we distracted by the things of life that surround us? Are we enveloped by how we envision Jesus to be in our lives, or are we resting in the faith of what Christ came into the world to do for us at the Cross and the promise of His second coming?
PRAYER THOUGHT
Holy Spirit, grant us the clarity to see Jesus as who He really is.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Holy Spirit, grant us the clarity and vision to see Jesus as He really is, the Son of God who came into the world to die and rise again for us. In His name we pray. AMEN
INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)
John 8:12-30
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