Isaiah 66:10-14 - by Don Neuendorf
Wednesday, June 30, 2010 :: 59 Views ::
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As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.
God talks about the city of Jerusalem in highly emotional terms. And obviously, even today Jews, Christians, and Muslims can all be very passionate about this city. But why?
Do you feel that strongly about your old home town?
Perhaps it's because I've moved around so much, but I don't really feel that way. In fact, I sometimes struggle to know how to answer when people ask where I'm "from". Well, I grew up through elementary school in LaPorte, Indiana, so I'm a Hoosier. But I was born in Rockford, Illinois (so I'm a "sucker," my dad said). But then I lived in Wisconsin for several years. Does that make me a Badger? And I've lived in Michigan more years than any of those places, but "Michigander" is the least interesting of all the nicknames.
What difference does it make? How does it change your view of...
...life or of the world to say that you came from such-and-such a place?
Of course, some things do shape us. Growing up on a farm and experiencing the rhythms of life there - the chores - etc. is very different from growing up in a large city and experiencing the streets - the museums and shows - the crime - the crowds of people. Is that all that is behind the love of Jerusalem?
On the other hand, even if you have never been to Valley Forge or to Gettysburg, if you spend a little time considering what those empty fields meant to your nation and your life, then you might discover a surprising soft spot in your heart for a certain wheat field or peach orchard.
These places have no value in themselves. Your hometown is no more precious, geographically, than any other place, even if it has some interesting features. But for the way that God used it to shape your life, or someone else's life, it can be a very important place to remember. It can be a great comfort, and seeing God preserve and restore such a place can then serve as a sign of his restoration of your life. That's what God's preservation of Jerusalem meant. It was not that those dusty streets were so important, but that God would once again bless his people, as he did before.
"I'm but a stranger here. Heaven is my home." But God has given us homes here also, temporary though they may be. And he uses them as a place of refuge, a place where we may share his word and grow together.
As you celebrate Independence Day this year, give thanks for the free nation which God gave you, a good and blessed place to grow in faith. And pray that he would restore our nation, not to economic or political or military greatness, but to a greatness that lifts up his name.