Reading: Isaiah 60: 1-7
Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the Lord will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. 3 The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.
4 “Lift up your eyes all around, and see: They all gather together, they come to you; Your sons shall come from afar, And your daughters shall be nursed at your side. 5 Then you shall see and become radiant, And your heart shall swell with joy; Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you. 6 The multitude of camels shall cover your land, The dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; All those from Sheba shall come; They shall bring gold and incense, And they shall proclaim the praises of the Lord.
7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together to you, The rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you; They shall ascend with acceptance on My altar, And I will glorify the house of My glory.
Our text is a wake-up call on Israel in the light of the prophetic reality that Christ, the personification of God’s glory, had, first of all, appeared unto the Jews. The call to “arise and shine” is a justifiable divine demand on a people who had the privilege of Christ first appearing to them. The Lord required from them the responsibility of spreading to others the message of grace they had received.
There is presently a relative dullness on the part of the church and her members in the matter of reaching to the world with the message of the gospel. Perhaps, that is due to spiritual ignorance of the glory of God in us. The Lord depends on the church in the matter of reaching the unsaved with the light of the gospel. As the year is yet young, it is a good time to take stock of our evangelical vision as a church and as individuals. The Lord requires visible action in this matter, that is why He says “arise, shine…” Enough of the slumber of excuses and non-functional wishes; arise and shine! Why? The glory of the Lord has risen upon you. If you have partaken of that glory, you have to arise and shine. That is the Lord’s call to His people.
PRAYER: Lord, help me to arise and shine for You.