Living Love

Andy Campbell April 15, 2019 0 0

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Isaiah 42: 1-9

1 The Lord says,

“Here is my servant, whom I strengthen—
    the one I have chosen, with whom I am pleased.
I have filled him with my Spirit,
    and he will bring justice to every nation.
2 He will not shout or raise his voice
    or make loud speeches in the streets.
3 He will not break off a bent reed
    nor put out a flickering lamp.
He will bring lasting justice to all.
4 He will not lose hope or courage;
    he will establish justice on the earth.
    Distant lands eagerly wait for his teaching.”

5 God created the heavens and stretched them out;
    he fashioned the earth and all that lives there;
    he gave life and breath to all its people.
And now the Lord God says to his servant,
6 “I, the Lord, have called you and given you power
    to see that justice is done on earth.
Through you I will make a covenant with all peoples;
    through you I will bring light to the nations.
7 You will open the eyes of the blind
    and set free those who sit in dark prisons.

8 “I alone am the Lord your God.
    No other god may share my glory;
    I will not let idols share my praise.
9 The things I predicted have now come true.
Now I will tell you of new things
    even before they begin to happen.”

You can usually spot the child who is loved. It’s not because they have more things – rather it involves the levels of confidence they have in themselves and the compassion they display for others, during the course of any day. They care about the world and those around them because they are cared for. They learn forgiveness through not being condemned. They show compassion because they are given understanding. We respect others as a result of being valued ourselves. ‘Charity begins at home’ is a saying often misused to limit our caring and sharing to our own tribe, when actually it speaks of young people learning to expand their love, as they experience love in action amongst family.

Jesus knew he was loved both by his earthly family and by his Heavenly Father. That love was expressed in many ways but nowhere more clearly than in “This is my son with whom I am well pleased”, heard at his baptism and at other special times. So watch him as he shows compassion for those whom others shunned, as he walks confidently into Jerusalem’s temple to declare “This place is a house of prayer” and upset more than tables. Watch him encourage and teach his followers. Watch what is important to him, and make it important to you.

“Here is my servant, whom I strengthen. The one I have chosen, with whom I am well pleased.”

Prayer:

Abba, Father – yours is a love for me that is without equal and without end. Enable me to recognise that there is nothing I can do that will make you love me more, and nothing I can do that will make you love me less. 
This day I rejoice in that divine love, which enfolds me in my waking and in my sleeping; in the darkness and in the light, on my own and in company with others.
So may I watch your Son Jesus, my Master, and emulate him in my everyday living so that He is pleased and others catch a glimpse of the Saviour.