Saturday, April 8, 2017

Great News

UV 2248/10000 Great News
Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.
Nahum 1 v 15

Every human being from the point of birth faces challenges. The greatest of challenges a man faces is death. Next to death is disease. Next to disease is poverty. Next to that is failure. Apart from these are the challenges of loneliness, the challenge of overcoming one’s own weaknesses and fears. We are never sure where the bad news or the difficulty will hit us from- the north, south, east or west. The purpose of life for the vast majority is not to seek happiness but to overcome these mountainous challenges. The tidings or news that tell us that it is possible to overcome these great challenges of life without paying the heavy cost of facing it alone brings great joy to our hearts. Part of the joy of hearing good news is sharing it with others. Jesus proved in the course of His earthly journey that He has power to deal with every human challenge including the disasters posed by nature. He has power to command the dead to rise to life. the sick to be healed, the mentally ill to be cured, the possessed to be delivered, the poor to be blessed, the depressed to be encouraged, the rich, powerful and wicked to be humbled. He has the power to smoothen the rough patches we go through and to prevent the wicked and powerful from oppressing us.

In the context of these challenges, the news of the resurrection of Jesus is the happiest twist to the saddest ending and it holds in it the good news of the promise and hope of the happiest ending to every human’s sad or glad story. It is not news that we will all one day die but the great news is that we will live forever thereafter in our resurrected bodies even as Jesus rose from the dead. It is not news that we will face challenges, problems, afflictions but the Lord will deliver us, redeem us, preserve us, heal us, strengthen us. We are not just to be receivers of good news like these but conveyors and publishers of peace and goodwill among all mankind. When we do so, even our lowest extremities, our feet will be as blessed as our heads and our entire being. Where our feet touch, the Red Sea and the Jordan will part. Obstacles as large as mountains will be flattened like plains before us.

The new covenant relationship that Jesus forges between us and God does not liberate us from our commitments to God and man but we can celebrate in a sober way and with reverence each moment of our lives as people saved by the Lord. The wicked one, the enemy of our souls has no more power of the yoke of death and sin over us. He can no longer drive us like oxen to plough his fields but we are called to be sowers of the seed of faith, the seed of good news of healing, deliverance, breaking of bondages of every kind, the seed of royal and priestly authority vested in each believer in Jesus, the seed of provision, the seed of salvation. These are not given to us in our laps as full blown plans or plants but as seed that we should through our commitment and patience and diligence grow to the maturity of the crops at harvest.

Prateep V Philip

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