words i am pondering today



Do your little bit of good where you are; it is those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.--Desmond Tutu


Monday, April 5, 2010

He is Risen!

Who believes what we've heard and seen? Who would have thought God's saving power would look like this?

The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,
a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
Through his bruises we get healed.
We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost.
We've all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong,
on him, on him.

He was beaten, he was tortured,
but he didn't say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
and like a sheep being sheared,
he took it all in silence.
Justice miscarried, and he was led off—
and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for his own welfare,
beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried him with the wicked,
threw him in a grave with a rich man,
Even though he'd never hurt a soul
or said one word that wasn't true.

Still, it's what God had in mind all along,
to crush him with pain.
The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin
so that he'd see life come from it—life, life, and more life.
And God's plan will deeply prosper through him.

Out of that terrible travail of soul,
he'll see that it's worth it and be glad he did it.
Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant,
will make many "righteous ones,"
as he himself carries the burden of their sins.
Therefore I'll reward him extravagantly—
the best of everything, the highest honors—
Because he looked death in the face and didn't flinch,
because he embraced the company of the lowest.
He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many,
he took up the cause of all the black sheep.

Isaiah Chapter 53, in The Message

6 comments:

  1. Oh yeah, Isaiah 53! So glad you posted this! And so glad you are back. He is risen, indeed! Hope that the next 50 days of Easter are a blessing to you and yours!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Glad to see you back - you were missed :)

    Thank you for this post.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Rosa, I thought if I gave the call you might give the response--thanks for that!

    Scottish Twins, thanks for saying hi! I missed reading about everyone's lives, so will be looking forward to doing that this week. (the hard part will be moderation!)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Just had to echo what everyone else has written: He is risen INDEED! Loved reading this, it gives me courage. If my savior can do this, then there is nothing I can't do through him! And welcome back! Can't wait to read your posts again! Oh happy day! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Happy Easter! And welcome back! Even though I can call you (and have!) I've missed the intimacy of your blogs.

    I've got a "Praise God" moment for you. Remember me telling you that the choir director's daughter was in the hospital for heart surgery? She finally got well enough to be put on the list for a transplant today, and had a transplant match within 2 hours! (The average wait is more like 2 years) She's being prepped for surgery as I write this!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Well, complications developed. Very hard for her family, but she is still with us. Please pray for her family!

    ReplyDelete