Comments today focus on Isaiah 49:1-7.
Read Isaiah 49
Isaiah speaks of one who is coming who will be the servant of God. And not just a servant, but The Servant long promised and long anticipated. This Servant would be King of all. This Servant would also come to suffer. What a beautiful Servant we see in Isaiah's four Servant Songs!
In Isaiah 49:3 we see that this Servant (a very human person) is said to display the glory, or splendor, or beauty of God. And this Servant is Christ. Jesus of Nazareth. The Son of God and Son of Man.
He is beauty. He is majesty. To him belongs all glory, power, might, honor, and blessing. He obeyed as we should have obeyed. He lived as we should have lived. He loved as we should have loved. And he, a man with no physical majesty or beauty to attract us to him; he, a man whose appearance would by torture and brutal death be marred beyond any semblance of human, a man from whom grown men hide their faces in horror; he, a man despised and rejected and suffering on the cross—he is Beauty. Even after his resurrection from the dead, the scars he still bears are his glory. Yes, there will come a time when we shall see him shining like the sun in its full glory surrounded by angelic armies and all the saints. But even then we will rejoice in the beauty of the Lamb who was slain. What he did for will forever be the source of our praise. And He, Jesus, is the only beauty that can repair the ugliness of this world.
And yes, there is ugliness in this world. In sin we are fallen far from him. And we feel the ugliness, the darkness, the pain and turmoil of this broken world. Look around you. Look in your own homes. Look in your own heart. There it is.
But in Christ, there is restoration. His death and resurrection claims your hideous heart and forgives it and makes it beautiful again. You are his work of art—someday, his perfect masterpiece in heaven, but for now a work in progress. He has made you beautiful again in Baptism because in Baptism you are united with Christ Jesus, our beautiful Servant-Savior. And in this moment of grace right now, and throughout the week as you study the flawless Word of God, that beauty is imparted to you. Yes, God works through his beautiful means of grace in the Church a great power to make you valued and valuable, a most precious possession to the Lord.
What is beautiful? Christ and all he does. We the redeemed are beautiful. Our broken lives rebuilt by him are beautiful. Our relationships restored through his glorious power are beautiful. Our service to the Lord, our mercy shown to the world, our proclamation of the cross of Christ is beautiful. Even our Godly suffering for Christ is beautiful. Glory and honor are ours because we belong to the glorious Servant. And some day, we shall see our beautiful Savior with our own two eyes, and shall dwell in the peace and paradise of heaven with Him. And we will forever rejoice that all the beauty and splendor of God was displayed in Christ and his cross. Amen.
Ask Yourself:
What ugliness do I see in the world? In my home? In my heart?
Where do I see Christ's beauty? How can I better live beautifully for him?
Pray:
Pray from your heart today asking for the strength of the Holy Spirit to live obediently and compassionately, beautifully for the Lord.
Study with me tomorrow,
Pastor Jon
Soli Deo Gloria!
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