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REFLECTION

The sign of God’s faithfulness is the theme for our reflection. A sign is an object, or event whose presence or occurrence indicates the presence or occurrence of something else. God’s faithfulness means His trustworthiness and dependability through the manifestation of His mighty deeds and glory in our lives. The sign of God’s faithfulness means the manifestation of the presence of God in the affairs of His people to demonstrate or indicate His trustworthiness and dependableness. At a time when the Babylonian empire had besieged Israel and taken many captives into exile in Babylon, the people of Israel had lost hope and were wondering if God was still faithful to them. It was at this time that God spoke through His servant Isaiah to demonstrate to them that He is still faithful to them. We shall reflect on the following facts:
1. We experience the sign of God’s faithfulness even in a state of suffering, injustice and oppression.
2. Jesus is God’s faithfulness to humanity.
3. We become beneficiaries of God’s faithfulness through repentance and faith in Jesus.

Firstly, Beloved in the Lord, God is faithful to us and we are rest assured that even in our state of sinfulness, suffering, hopelessness, injustice and oppression, His glory or presence is still with us because He has a covenant relationship with us. God purposely chose Israel as a holy nation to redeem the whole world, yet Israel failed because of their sinfulness or disobedience to God. Although Israel was in captivity in Babylon, their hope was restored and revived because God had promised that “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.” (Isaiah 42:1) In other words, God’s anointed servant who will spring forth from the nation Israel, will not only liberate Israel but will also liberate the whole world. It is for this reason, God assures the Israelites through the Prophet Isaiah that ““I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, ⁷ to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness…Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.” (Isaiah 42:6-7,9). Beloved in the Lord, because of our covenant relationship with God, He is faithful and does not give up on us.

Secondly, my dear friend in the Lord, who is this servant and sign of God’s faithfulness to the world? God’s servant and sign of faithfulness is His son, Jesus Christ. God said in Isaiah 42:3-4, that, “In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;⁴ he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching, the islands will put their hope.” To prove that truly, Jesus was God’s sign of faithfulness to the world, before Jesus was conceived, the angel said to Mary, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:30-33) Again, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” ²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ²³ “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). (Matthew 1:20-23). Again God proved His sign of faithfulness to us through Jesus Christ during His Baptism. Mark tells us that “when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹ And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:10-11). During Jesus’ transfiguration event, God again said “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” (Luke 9:35). My dear friend, Jesus is the sign and fulfilment of God’s faithfulness in our lives. He is the fulfilment of prophecy and God’s promise of salvation in the world. Before He started His public ministry, Luke tells us that Jesus “went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. ¹⁷ And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, ¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, ¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” ²⁰ And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. ²¹ And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:16-21). Jesus, is indeed the fulfilment of God’s faithfulness to sinful humanity and broken world.

Last but not least beloved in the Lord, how can God’s faithfulness be fulfilled in our lives? Jesus reveals to us that “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:16-18) The faithfulness of the Lord is not limited to the Israelites but to anyone in the world regardless of his or her nationality, race and social status. The faithfulness and salvation of the Lord are everlasting when we repent and accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour. It is for this reason Hebrews 10:23 assures us that “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” Beloved in the Lord, God has been faithful to us by liberating us from the bondage of sin and eternal destruction through Jesus Christ, Let us not go back to our old sinful ways, for God has assured that, “Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; Isaiah 42:9. Like Paul, let us always “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14) Shalom.

In summary, the theme for our reflection is “the sign of God’s faithfulness” We have identified three facts in our meditation on the theme; firstly, we experience the sign of God’s faithfulness even in the state of suffering, injustice and oppression, secondly, Jesus is the sign of God’s faithfulness to sinful humanity, and thirdly, we become beneficiaries of His faithfulness through repentance and faith in Jesus.

PRAYER
Almighty God, we thank you for Your faithfulness to us through our Lord Jesus Christ. Holy Spirit, strengthen us to remain faithful to God even as we await our final redemption through the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.