WordLive - Year OneSample

Prepare: In preparation for today’s reading, meditate on the story of the Two Lost Sons in Luke 15:11–32. Fearing the worst Standing nervously outside the headmaster’s study, you fear the worst. There’s bound to be trouble! If you have ever expected the worst, only to be utterly surprised to find rather that it’s the best of news, you’ll understand how the hearers of Isaiah’s prophecy felt. ‘On that day….’ Oh, we know what that’s all about: utter destruction, from which we try to hide in vain under the nearest rock, in the deepest cave! (See also 2:6–21 and Thursday’s study.) Restoration The wonderful surprise is that ‘that day’ has in store not only destruction but also restoration. Those who are left will be purified, made holy, made glorious. The Lord who guided his people in the wilderness by cloudy and fiery pillar to the land of promise will now protect them by the same means. When coming to the God of holiness and justice, we might fear the worst: his anger as he turns his back on us, leaving us abandoned to our fate. Yet what we find is utterly extraordinary: like the prodigal son being greeted by the unexpected love of his father, so God washes away our filth, calls us holy and shelters us from scorching sun and drenching storm. Respond: ‘Guide me, O thou great redeemer, … let the fire and cloudy pillar lead me all my journey through.’ ‘Thank you for saving me, protecting me and calling me your own, dear Lord.’ http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-06-30