Isaiah 60: No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will
call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.
Imagine living in a walled city, fortified on all
sides, with iron gates that are locked tight. And inside is a great spread of
land from edge to edge, full of violent people who act in unspeakable, hateful
ways.
What a terrible place, a horrific dwelling! In fact, you are known all around for your
fortress in which you live, and people pity you and fear you, so they stay away
from the pitiful place where you call home.
That’s the way we all exist, apart from Christ.
We put up walls to keep out intruders of pain and
suffering, we hang gates of iron to only allow in those who bring us treats,
and we hoard all of that which we own inside our borders, until all of that
self-protection and self-protection begins to stink and rot, and volcanic hot
destruction begins to bubble up from the ground on which we stand.
It’s THEN that we need a change in venue, a new
place to live, one where freedom reigns and good things thrive.
The walls of self-preservation come down, and the
iron gates disintegrate into dust. And
instead, we are known by new walls and gates called salvation and praise. And this new wall, not built by our own
hands, but by the love of our God, still protects and fortifies, but inside
along our borders, new life begins, trees grow, flowers bloom, and all who see
and hear want to come be where we are.
What a lovely transformation that is ours for the asking...
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