Hope for as Far as the Curse Is Found

(Author's Note: We've come to the end of our Fall Semester and so, as is my tradition, I will be taking a break along with the students.  We have a rather long break this year, so while the students won't be back until January 17th, I may get back to writing a little sooner.  MAYBE.  Have a very blessed Christmas season and a Happy New Year!  Jim)

“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.” (Isaiah 61:1-3 NIV)

In my years in vocational ministry, I have traveled to many parts of the world to assist missionaries in carrying this message to the very people for which it was intended—the poor, the brokenhearted, the prisoners held captive by the darkness.  I have worked with people, young and old, who live in conditions almost beyond imagination and who suffer greatly, who are in the grip of alcoholism or drug addiction, or who worship false gods.  Perhaps for most of us, this is what comes to mind when we think about mission work—going to a faraway place where people are poor and suffering and share with them the Good News. 

Yet, go to almost any city or town in the U.S. and you will find the same. Several years ago, my wife and I, along with several students, assisted a local ministry in a trailer park.  We went from trailer to trailer handing out Christmas gifts.  Many of the people we visited were unemployed, alcoholics or drug abusers, and living in very dilapidated housing.  I have found people in similar circumstances throughout the country as I have taken students on mission trips over spring break, whether it be in urban areas such as Jackson, Mississippi and Philadelphia, or in rural areas such as in Kentucky or on a Native American reservation in Show Low, Arizona.  

The truth is the poor, the brokenhearted, and those held in bondage by the darkness are not far away from us.  This message that Jesus came to proclaim (Luke 4:16-20) is for everyone, both near and far. One may indeed be called by the Lord to take it to a faraway land, but it is just as needed here at home.  As that wonderful Christmas carol, Joy to the World, proclaims, “He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found.”  And it is found throughout the world, including in our own communities.

Today, realize you don’t have to go to the other side of the world to proclaim the wonderful message of Isaiah 61.  There are people very close by who need to hear it.  All they need are people willing to deliver it.

© Jim Musser 2016