Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

December 14
Sunday


THE GLORY
OF HUMILITY

READ:
Isaiah 40:1-5
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The glory of the LORD
shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall
see it together.
__Isaiah 40:5
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I remember sitting one Christmas season in London listening to Handel's Messiah, with full chorus singing about the day when "the glory of the Lord shall be revealed." I had spent the morning viewing remnants of England's glory--the crown jewels, the Lord Mayor's gilded carriage--and it occurred to me that just such images of wealth and power must have filled the minds of Isaiah's contemporaries who first heard that promise.

The Messiah who showed up, however, wore a different kind of glory--the glory of humility. The God who roared, who if He so desired could order armies and empires about like pawns, this God emerged in Bethlehem as a baby who could not speak or eat solid food. This God who created all things became dependent on a teenager for shelter, food, and love.

Rulers stride through the world with bodyguards, fanfare, and flashing jewelry. In contrast, God's visit to earth took place in a shelter for animals, with no attendants present and nowhere to lay the newborn King but a feed trough. Indeed, the event that divided history into two parts may have had more animal than human witnesses. As Phillips Brooks put it:

`````````How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given!````````
`````````````````So God imparts to human hearts`````````````````
```````````````````the blessings of his heaven.```````````````````

In most religions, fear is the primary emotion when approaching God. In Jesus, God made a way of relating to us that did not involve fear.
__Philip Yancey
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In Christ, God veiled his deity
to serve and to save humanity.

***************Today's Bible Reading __ Isaiah 40:1-5*************

1 "Comfort, yes, comfort
My people!" says your
God. 2 "Speak comfort to
Jerusalem, and cry out to
her, that her warfare is
ended, that her iniquity is
pardoned; for she has
received from the LORD's
hand double for all her
sins."

3 The voice of one crying
in the wilderness:
"Prepare the way of the
LORD; make straight in the
desert a highway for our
God. 4 Every valley shall be
exalted and every mountain
and hill brought low; the
crooked places shall be
made straight and the rough
places smooth; 5 the glory
of the LORD shall be
revealed, and all flesh shall
see it together; for the
mouth of the LORD has
spoken."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

John the Baptist's message in Matthew 3:1-12 reflects the content
of isaiah 40:3 and Malachii 3:1. Isaiah 40:3 refers to construction
workers who were called on to clear the way in the desert for the
return of the Lord, as his people (the exiles) returned to Judah
from the Babylonian captivity in 537 BC. In similar fashion, John the
Baptist was in the desert preparing the way for the Lord and His
kingdom by calling on people to return to Him. In both cases, God
had to prepare the way for a mighty new work. __Dennis Fisher
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