Monday, December 17, 2007

The Great Return

"And the ransomed of the Lord shall return..." Isaiah 35:10

A part of Israel's redemption was a returning, a getting again of what had been lost or taken. Though Isaiah foreshadowed exile for Israel, he also foreshadowed redemption, and that entailed a return to the land of promise. What was once torn asunder is now reconciled together, is made as one again.
Read Romans 5:10. That we were "enemies" of God is incredible to consider. We became the foe of our very Creator, sided against Him in rebellion, and made a pact with His enemy, becoming his children. There has been a great tearing asunder of ourselves from what gave our lives purpose and life. There is now etched in the essence of humanity a longing for return and a sadness at being unable to return.
"We were reconciled to God by the death of His Son." Jesus Christ is the Great Return, the bringing together again of what was lost from each other. "We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:1b) The war, on this plane, is over. We have surrendered; and through surrender, we have won, for our surrender has caught us up in the victory of Christ over death, hell, and the grave. We have left the pits of Sheol and have been swept back up into the intimate communion of the Godhead. The ransomed pf the Lord have returned, ad what a reunion it has been. We have returned to God, with songs and everlasting joy upon our heads. We have obtained joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing have fled away.

My God is reconciled,
His pardoning voice I hear.
He owns me for His child,
I can no longer fear.
With confidence I now draw nigh,
And, "Abba, Abba Father," cry...

(from Charles Wesley)
-Jon Vowell

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