Serving As Sign Posts
You ready for some good news?
The overarching thread of the Bible is this: Wholeness. Brokenness. Repentance. Redemption. Restoration. And on and on it goes until Jesus Christ returns.
The book of Micah begins with what feels like this doomsday message of judgement but eventually, hope is given.
This is good news for our lives, isn’t it? How often do we feel like there’s no light at the end of the tunnel? How often do we believe that life—as we know it—is over?
Not so fast.
Micah 5:2 says,
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me , one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”
There’s a bigger story happening here.
If we focus narrowly on our present circumstances, on our current state, then things feel hopeless. But Micah, along with all the writers of Scripture call us to the Hope that is Jesus! That one day, healing will occur. One day, right-living will be restored. One day, all pain, all hurt, all abuse, all bullying, all exclusion will be no more. One day, Heaven on Earth will be complete.
And friends, this is the invitation that’s being extended towards us. To help bring heaven on earth now. To participate in God’s redemptive story now. To preach and share the Good News. A Gospel that isn’t about judgment but about mercy!
Micah prophecies all of this (he writes this message 700 years) before it comes to pass. And his prophecy is that from Bethlehem, a ruler over Israel will come.
So, picking up in Matthew 2, skipping ahead 700+ years. Look at what the Gospel writer writes:
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel’” (Matthew 2:1-7).
Do you see it?
This is what the prophet had written. This is what Micah predicted. In other words, “Micah got it right. He preached a Gospel message—Good News—that pointed people towards the restorative Messiah.”
And friends, our call is the same. To—in thought, word, and deed—serve as sign posts to our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Take inventory of your life right now:
Do your words communicate that?
Do your actions communicate that?
If the answer is no, then it’s time to let go of the injustice you’ve been holding on to.
As we repent, as we turn, as we consecrate ourselves, or set ourselves apart, the world begins to recognize Jesus in us.
So, what if we all accepted that challenge today? To see our city, our community, our schools, and our workplaces on earth as it is in heaven?
Could it be so?
Be encouraged.
