30 odd years ago I lived in India – New Delhi to be precise. In many ways I was quite isolated and far from home. Occasionally I would get one of those blue airmail letters. Thin and flimsy yet they brought a real sense of connection, hope and much appreciated news. I remember sitting on the roof of the house and being transported back to Coventry – then a breeze would pass me and I would return to New Delhi.
In the book of Isaiah chapter 51 we encounter folk who are far from home. It helps when reading it to frame in your mind the image of the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Israel carried into captivity – isolated from their normal home life. Judah remained at home and entered a confused religious experience.
Imagine being in the middle of this? Where is God and what is God up to? Will we survive the mess of captivity/isolation?
I believe you and I are faced with the very same questions. We may be seeking to live out a life of faith in the midst of terrible turmoil, estrangement or isolation. In some ways we sense this lump of clay we are on (earth), spinning around in space, isn’t it! The Apostle Paul uses the phrase ‘citizenship is in heaven’ as though we have somewhere else to be. Jesus spoke of a place prepared for us, another world. The thief on the cross next to Jesus was promised when his eyes closed and heart stopped for the final time that his life would continue.
So how does that help today, in this current situation?
Isaiah 51 and verse 2 says ‘Look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was only one man, and I blessed him and made him many,’ and verse 10 says of God: ‘Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea so that the redeemed might cross over?’
Looking back and retracing your journey is the key here. Having a journal, or a record of our dealings with the world around us, helps to bring perspective to our current situation. Many of us have reasonable memories, although they can be selective!
Trust me, Isaiah is telling these isolated people. I don’t know about you but I always need to be reminded that yesterday was not as bad as I thought it was going to be on the day before. The people Isaiah was encouraging had evidence in their national past, their story was one of pilgrimage, triumph over adversity, new birth.
Our challenge today is to look back and take encouragement from the journey so far. We are on a pilgrimage and it hasn’t ended. Get out those airmail letters from home. For me today that is often the letters Paul, Peter and John sent to those on pilgrimage following Jesus’ way.
Rob Wykes 