Those who have been ransomed by the LORD will return. They will enter Jerusalem singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be filled with joy and gladness. —Isaiah 35:10 NLT
Entering Jerusalem singing and crowned with everlasting joy? This imagery paints a beautiful picture not so much of what is, but what will be.
Advent is all about what will be. Maybe in addition to be called Easter people because we are people who live in the certainty of a risen Christ, maybe we should also be Advent people because we aren’t just waiting for what is to come; we are living what is to come.
A number of people I minister with in the congregation are currently going through, or have gone through, significant health issues. They are living with major medical testing, endless bloodwork, discomfort, lifestyle interruptions, and pain. Yet they are living in the now by facing each moment not just by what is, but what will ultimately be. In other words, they are living for what is to come. As ransomed people, they know these words this prophet writing under Isaiah speaks of, and while their challenges today are great, the promises of life with Christ tomorrow are far greater.
This author doesn’t speak specifically of Christ. There’s no need. Faith leads us to Christ in these words just as faith leads us to knowing that sorrow and mourning will disappear forever one day.
PRAYER: LORD, we lift up 2 Corinthians 4:18 which says we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Amen.