Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter- when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.
The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
Isaiah 58:6-11
This was my first blog post. I wrote it (well, posted it at least) last March when we were praying about coming to Peru but didn't know yet if it was going to happen. I spent some time thinking about this passage again today and was overcome by both its directives and its promises. Isn't the heart of God beautiful?
Despite all the mess in the world, I think this is the desire of most of us-- to be agents of compassion and restoration, to work justice, to spend ourselves on the behalf of others. And on top of that, we want the return- healing, light, glory, guidance, satisfaction. We want so deeply to be a well-watered garden and a spring whose waters never fail. Instead of shrinking in intimidation before the task, I think I'll choose something, just one little thing, to do today.
