Sunday, 22 December: 1 Comfort, comfort my
people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her
that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received
from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. Isaiah 40:1-2
God chooses to comfort. He specifically chooses to
restore, reconcile, and resolve, ending the estrangement that keeps us enemies.
I remember returning to Germany from Iraq. We landed in Ramstein Air Force
Base. The unit armorer boarded the C-17 as we sat on the ramp. He and his
assistants took our weapons and ammunition. I had deployed with one unit and
then transferred to another when the first redeployed. For over a year, my
weapons had not left my side; now in a safe and secure environment, I felt oddly
unbalanced. I had become used to living in a combat zone. It took quite a while,
months really, but slowly the tension slipped away and I relaxed. I often forget
that sin separated me from God. My ill-conceived choices led to a state of open
warfare with God, but His choice was to send His son into the broken darkness
that I created. He chose to take actions designed to bring peace. Immanuel is
here, the hostilities are over and peace is declared.
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