Being a light to the Nations

lightChristmas
January 3, 2017

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 42:1-9

I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,
   I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,
   a light to the nations,
to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
   from the prison those who sit in darkness. –Isaiah 42:6-7

Are we living in darkness? I use eye drops each morning. Keep them on the chest next to my bed. I can usually find the container in the dark though my feeling around sometimes results in my knocking it to the floor and even under the bed. In our world of electronic gadgets, we rarely experience total darkness. The light around my clock’s face sends out enough light that could guide me to my little eye drop container if I sat it in just the right spot. If I wake with a start in total darkness, it is the realization that the electricity is out. There is no battery backup in my old clock, no street lights without electricity either. Occasionally as I feel around for my eye drops, I wonder how well I would do if I had to deal with total blindness. I am so nearsighted without my glasses and have astigmatism I am well acquainted with seeing through a mirror, dimly*. I wonder if my lack of total darkness makes me more or less vulnerable?

Do we become overconfident in our routine perceptions? Do most people? What do I look at every day and never see? It seems Isaiah believes God thinks people do become overconfident as he calls us to be a light to the nations. If God’s light were abundant, such work would be unnecessary. We will not become a light unless we perceive the need for light and that perception must start with self-examination.

Prayer: Lord, help me take in what you want me to see that I am now missing. Help me understand why I need to see these pieces absent from my vision. Guide me to use my new insight to your glory. Amen.

*Derived from 1 Corinthians 13:12

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.