Perhaps the most hurtful and damaging wound a
person can go through is the experience of not
being wanted. One of the reasons that separation and divorce is so painful
and devastating is that it is a graphic experience of not being valued or
wanted by someone you once loved. Children who experience the constant arguing,
conflict, and/or the divorce of their parents may unwittingly conclude that
nobody wants them.
The opposite of being unwanted and rejected is to be spoken for. To be spoken for is to
be “taken” or “reserved (for someone)” (Source: http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/spoken+for). “If a person or thing is spoken for or has been spoken for, someone has claimed them or asked for them, so
no-one else can have them.” (Source:
http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-cobuild/be%20spoken%20for).
Isaiah 62:4-5 is a powerful Old Testament passage
of God speaking for His chosen people
Israel:
“You'll get a brand-new name straight
from the mouth of God. You'll be a stunning crown in the palm of God's hand, a
jeweled gold cup held high in the hand of your God. No more will anyone call
you ‘Rejected,’ and your country will no more be called ‘Ruined.’ You'll be
called ‘Hephzibah’ (My Delight), and your land ‘Beulah’ (Married), because God
delights in you and your land will be like a wedding celebration. For as a
young man marries his virgin bride, so your Builder marries you, and as a
bridegroom is happy in his bride, so your God is happy with you” (MSG).
Before a person can experience being spoken for by God the Father, Jesus, and
the Holy Spirit, he or she must first experience being spoken to. Some would say that God only spoke to people in the Old
Testament. He has ceased speaking to people today. If this were true, why would
Jesus promise, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me”
(John 10:27 also see verses 3, 4 & 16 of this chapter)? Why would John later
write, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and
opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me
(Rev. 3:20)? Or why would Jesus make this comment and promise to His
followers, “I have many more
things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of
truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on
His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose
to you what is to come” (John 16:12 & 13)? Is it possible for a person to
come to faith in Jesus unless He first somehow speaks to them? The answer is
obvious.
So, yes, Jesus Christ speaks to us today. He both
speaks to us (if we are listening)
and He also yearns to speak for us and
communicate that He has purchased us with His pure shed blood so that now we belong to Him. Yes, He has engraved us on the palms of His hands (Isaiah 49:16).
I’d love to hear from you regarding this weeks’
Post. Drop me your comments, questions, and ideas in the space below or write
to rustybach@gmail.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment